Gunnar Kay, 36, is a Production Manager, based at the Hamburg facility.
He has been with the company since 2016 – back when it was still known as Electronic Network (EN). As a trained electronics technician, Gunnar gained extensive experience in the EMS industry over the years and witnessed the site's growth and transition firsthand.
Gunnar actually started on the production floor at EN. Thanks to his technical background, he later moved into Engineering for several years, which allowed him to dive deep into manufacturing processes. After gaining years of experience in both production and engineering, Gunnar was given the opportunity to lead the manufacturing operations as Production Manager in August 2025.
His role combines team leadership with technical oversight. The main responsibilities include operational leadership of the production team and close collaboration with the Engineering department to resolve technical issues. As a certified IPC-A-610 trainer, he is responsible for training staff in the acceptance criteria for electronic assemblies and conducting final quality inspections. Furthermore, Gunnar is involved in planning potential production expansions to keep the Hamburg site future-ready.
“A typical day for me is centered around being present on the shop floor. A large part of my time is spent on coordination and problem-solving: whether it’s discussing a technical challenge with an engineer, reacting to changing priorities, or ensuring that our quality standards are consistently met. It’s a mix of technical troubleshooting and organisational work to keep our production output steady."- Gunnar says.
What motivated Gunnar to exercise his role is a combination of two things: first, the strong team spirit in Hamburg. Working together with colleagues to tackle daily challenges and seeing high-quality products leave the facility is incredibly rewarding. Secondly, the Production Manager is driven by the opportunity to shape the future of his site by actively planning growth and expansions.
What he enjoys most is the practical side of problem-solving. There is a great sense of satisfaction in developing a solution—whether it's a technical fix or a new process—and then seeing it work perfectly in live production. Seeing the direct, positive impact of a decision on the workflow is the highlight of his job.
The main challenge is balancing multiple priorities simultaneously. In production, you are often needed in several places at once, which requires quick decision-making. It's all about staying flexible and finding the best way to keep everything moving forward, even when plans change at the last minute.
For Gunnar, the most significant part of his path was the transition from working on the production floor to taking on more responsibility. He is very grateful for the opportunity he was given to grow into later roles in Engineering and now as a Production Manager. This experience of being supported within the company truly marked the journey. “Today, it motivates me to give our new colleagues the same support and opportunities to grow within the team," Gunnar states.