In celebration of EMS’ 15th birthday, we caught up with our Chairman of the Operational Board and CEO, Bernard Chubb, to find out his favourite moments at EMS and the greatest company successes over the years.

So, tell us about the week you launched EMS…

What a week! There was a lot of nervous anxiety — I’d invested everything and borrowed anything I could to launch EMS. Luckily, in hindsight, I had nothing to worry about.

What has been EMS’ biggest challenge? 

Definitely the acquisition of LAM Electronics, a local Berkshire-based manufacturing company. Merging its staff and customer base into EMS was a challenge, but it resulted in amazing opportunities — as well as staff members who are still with EMS today.

What has been EMS’ biggest success? 

I would say our biggest success is that EMS has established itself as a state-of-the-art manufacturer in a very competitive field.

Our 15,500 sq. ft. facilities house top-of-the-range equipment — and we’ve recently invested £1 million in a new line of machines for PCB assembly, which include the latest surface-mount technology.

We’ve worked hard to make sure our clients cover a varied selection of industrial sectors with a range of requirements — from bare PCBs through to surface-mount assembly, cable assembly and full box builds with testing.

And without our clients, suppliers and business partners, none of it would be possible. That’s why we always aim to develop mutually beneficial relationships for improved quality, enhanced services and increased efficiency.

What has been EMS’ proudest moment? 

As we all know, the COVID pandemic was an extremely difficult time with a lot of pressure on the medical devices sector, and I was so proud when the EMS team went above and beyond to supply PCB assemblies for oxygen units.

Because ventilators and other life-critical medical devices have to be produced in agreement with the highest standards — from the design and function to the production and quality — the design of the PCB is crucial…

As a key supplier of PCB assemblies, we also decided to go for an ISO 13485:2016 accreditation to strengthen our position in the medical devices sector and further improve our process and product quality. And I’m delighted to say we were awarded the certification in February 2021!

Who has been with you the longest? 

The longest standing employee at EMS is Jonathan Plummer — who’s now been with us for 15 years! He first joined us during his degree course placement, working on a production line building printed circuit boards. Since then, he’s worked his way up to General Manager and now Managing Director.

What’s been your favourite memory over the last 15 years? 

Now that I think back, there have been so many — it’s difficult to choose! I’ll put myself in the firing line, although I could have chosen many others…

One day, after a particularly exhausting period, I went into our meeting room, closed the door and lay down. I woke to a hysterical scream — a member of our accounts team had walked in and thought she’d found me dead! Nothing like days in the office…

Is there anything you’d have done differently over the last 15 years? 

The last 15 years have been fantastic, with lots of hard (sometimes gruelling) work. As CEO, it’s been great to hand the reins over to our very capable board of directors.

I can watch their good work from ‘afar’ and sleep easy knowing the company is in the best hands with Managing Director Jonathan Plummer, Sales Director Rob Moore and Operations Director Paul Stone, as well as Finance Manager Paul Digby.

What are you looking forward to for the future of EMS? 

I’m looking forward to seeing the continued investment into our plant and staff — staying on top as the best for service and quality in the electronics manufacturing industry!

Three of our biggest customers have even been working with us for over a decade, and we aim to maintain that reputation and build on our best-in-class products and services.

EMS is well-established in the UK as a global supplier of electronic manufacturing solutions, including PCB assembly, box-build turnkey solutions and cable assembly. To find out more about EMS and the services we offer — including a comprehensive range of purchasing solutions — get in touch today.