10 MiMfg Magazine January / February 2023
INDUSTRY
Member Spotlight
Providing Simple Solutions to Complex Electronics Challenges
Member since December 2021 • Employs 120 Michigan workers • Learn more at fleetwoodgroup . com
In the manufacturing and electronics industry , quality assurance is essential for safety , proper functionality and efficiency of products and services . Providing the highest level of quality requires expertise in virtually every applicable job role , tool , technology program , industry and legal standard .
Fleetwood Electronics has been doing just that for over 65 years . Located in Holland , they are a fullservice electronics manufacturing company with a legacy of providing expert design and engineering solutions . Fleetwood designs , builds , tests , assembles , integrates and enhances existing and original products . Its main area of focus is communications-related technology , such as Bluetooth , broadband , radio frequency solutions , IoT and app development and integration .
“ Fleetwood Electronics is unique in that we design and build our own products as well as design and build products for others ,” says Jeremy Buckingham , National Sales Manager and Engineer for Fleetwood . “ Working as both the
A pick-and-place machine , shown here , is a robotic assembly device used during the development of circuit boards . designer and builder allows us more insight into product functionality and cost , ultimately creating more optimal solutions for businesses .”
No matter how complex an electrical project seems to be , Fleetwood may be able to uncover solutions that their manufacturing clients hadn ’ t considered , says Buckingham . “ A lot of things that are electrical are becoming electronic ,” he says , adding that one of Fleetwood ’ s core areas of expertise is creating and optimizing products to lower manufacturing cost , especially connected products .
“ Being in the electronics field for 17 years , I believe everyone should know how a printed circuit board works ,” says Angel Chavez , Quality Assurance Manager . “ Everything is electronic . Everyone eventually needs to change a battery and therefore touch a printed circuit board . Key FOBs , remote controls , hearing aid batteries , PC upgrades or repairs … eventually you will handle one .”
As quality assurance manager , Chavez ensures that Fleetwood ’ s processes meet IPC standards for electronics codes , development , design , purchasing , assembly and packaging . He also focuses on ensuring that the company continues to follow ISO standards in order to maintain its ISO 9001:2015 certification .
Chavez and Buckingham remain especially proud of their Instant-Trace contact tracing solution , which their team created during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify exposure . It involves the use of a small , electronic , wearable device that calculates how long individuals are less than 6 feet away from each other . At the end of the day , the badge is scanned and the information uploaded onto a cloud-based dashboard . The program would then identify individuals who spent more than 15 minutes per day less than 6 feet apart , which is generally the definition of COVID-19 exposure according to the CDC . If one person later realizes that they have COVID-19 , the system can therefore identify others who were exposed , allowing them to take measures to protect themselves .
“ The thing we ’ re most proud of is we saved lives ,” Buckingham says . “ We kept people separated and even kept people at work when they needed to be .”
Beyond the intrinsic benefits of designing solutions for manufacturing and electronics companies , Chavez says he is grateful for the company ’ s culture .
“ You ’ re not just another face in the crowd . It ’ s not like that here ,” Chavez says . “ You know everybody and are friends with everybody .” 6