Wiring circuit boards for success - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Nick Barbin, co-founder, president and CEO, said that the which designs and makes the boarda on asmall scale, is always searching for new customers to replace those who fold or get “I would have to say we’ver had complete turnover on our customer list maybs two or three times over,” he said. But that’s a game that Pleasanton-basedf Optimum Design has been winning. From 2006 to the company’s revenue grew 138 perceny — to $13.14 million. And it is on pace to grow 20 perceny to 40 percentin 2009. The compang has been profitable every year since its foundingtin 1991. The company’s secret has been its willingnesss to look fornew opportunities.
Barbin and his partnerss at first kept the firmsmall — with about 8 to 15 employees. And they only did layougt and design of the partnering with manufacturers toproduce them. But at the urging of some of the company’es customers, Optimum Design added the manufacturing side in2001 — and that’ s been a catalyst for Today, the company has aboutt 50 employees, and it’s hiring this year, probably four to five peopler for the manufacturing side of the business. Another successful strategy has been choosing theright customers. It mostlyh works with companies doing work for the military or makinfmedical instruments.
Both of thosew have fairly inelastic demand, and both industriew have traditionally contractedwith on-shore companies, rathedr than looking to India and China for cheaper deals. But Barbin says that the company’s ability to identifh strong markets to chase has helpedit “In this industry you go as your customer go,” he said. “There are a lot of companiex that are some of our competitors whered their focus is aparticulafr industry. If they’re reall y focused on telecom, they’re suffering right now, but 10 yearsw ago they were doing great.” The third factorf that sets Optimum Design apart is that itstays small.
The company only buildas high-end boards that are extremely and they only fill orders that range from 100to 10,0009 boards. It’s that last facto that keeps it relativelh safe from much bigger and cheaper saidJim Walker, who covers the industryu for . Walker said that almostf all of the biggest printed circuit board companied arein Asia. The only U.S. companies that survivwe are ones that aremaking high-end or prototyp e boards that eventually get shipped off to overseas foundriew to get mass-produced.
Walker also said that the industry is ripe for consolidation but that companies like Optimuk Design are fairly insulated from the first wave of those because they’re too small to make an impact on larger bottom lines. One of Optimum Design’s customers, an aerospacd company that asked not to be identifiesd for thisarticle (Optimum signs non-disclosure agreements with many of its makes equipment for the military and uses Optimun Design for its printed circui boards. One of the engineerz at the company, Randy, said that the firm used to make its own butin 2000, it contracteed out the work due to budget cuts.
Randyt said he rarely finds problems with the produc and that the company is now starting to work more closely with Optimum Design since it has run three board s through theentire process. “They admitted ... that they actually cost a littl e bit more than the guynext door, but we have experiencedc the high quality from them that’s kept us coming he said. And Barbin says that Randy’s attitud e is what makes the company successful. There are a couple of hundreed printed-circuit-board companies in the Bay Area, he said. But by offeringf the full process, and keepinf quality high, they’ve been able to find success.
“Thw designers we have here are world-class,” he “There’s really no one out there that can competre withour designers.”