For precision manufacturer Beyonics, capability, capacity, and flexibility rule the day.
The automotive, medical device, and technology industries rely on suppliers that can take on complex projects and execute them flawlessly while meeting strict schedules and keeping costs under control. With in-house tooling and automation capabilities, Beyonics is one of the world’s most respected precision mechanical component manufacturers in these ruthlessly demanding sectors. Whether cost-effectively building mechanical components and sub assemblies in high volumes, or creating high-value medium to low volume full product assemblies, the Singapore-based enterprise is a darling of some of the world’s most recognizable OEMs.
“We are material experts in the plastics, aluminum, and alloys world. We help customers with plastics, die casting and stamping part designs, especially when it comes to aluminum and metal replacement with plastics and insert molded plastics. We are one of the most unique and differentiated insert molders in the world,” CEO Lou Hughes told VENTURE. A top tier collaborator, Beyonics will take an entire sub assembly or product and review it thoroughly, offering suggestions to reduce the number of parts to simplify assembly or move to lower cost processes and materials.
“Because we design and build the tooling and automation in house, large automotive customers like Bosch, Lear, Continental, and JCI come to us for great quality and great solutions to some of their most challenging problems,” Hughes said. “We help to design and build very complex, precision mechanical components with varying levels of sub assembly and lots of automation.” The IATF 16949 certified firm is also a world-class insert molder, delivering creative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing automotive and medical designers, particularly when it comes to sensor design.
Hughes added, “Because we’re a die caster and a metal stamper, we also know metal and aluminum really well. Weight is very important for fuel economy, so we work with our automotive customers on ways to thin up the aluminum or metal or replace it with plastic and still meet their most stringent dimensional, thermal, and EMI requirements. We're very involved in the design process with our customers. They come to us and put their needs on the table, and we come up with bright ideas and solutions to help them achieve their goals.”
Customers with complex, medium to low volume manufacturing needs, particularly in the medical device and laboratory equipment space, seek out Beyonics for their ability to produce complex turnkey products that are eschewed by other firms whose sole focus is large volume manufacturing. “We are experts in mechanical and electrical assembly and test automation and we bring ideas to the customer to drive down cycle times, UPH, and drive out human error in inspection and test so that we can relentlessly pursue zero defect,” he stated.
Medical customers turn to Beyonics, an FDA ISO13485 approved operation, for their clean room capabilities, as well as medical injection molding and medical assembly. “We do everything under one roof and we don't have to outsource to get the job done. That enables us to provide great service to our customers in terms of flexibility, lead times, and flexible schedules. Many big medical customers may only need to purchase a thousand units of a complicated turnkey system, and we’re there to help them do that, unlike larger firms,” he stressed.
Supporting companies as global supply chains shift
Companies impacted by the US-China trade war have been searching for ways to reduce costs and minimise risk to their supply chains. “Right now many companies are rethinking their whole strategies for where they deploy their supply chains, and the risk they have when only deploying them to/in China,” Hughes said. “We have one facility in China, but our strength is in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand and that gives us a real leg up. It’s hard now to find a company outside of China that’s really capable when it comes to providing the combination of really great NPI speed, great quality, and competitive costing. We’ve been able to provide that kind of service and that kind of value outside of China, and that's a big part of our current success story.”
Prior to joining Beyonics in early 2019, Hughes helmed operations at Universal Electronics, where he transitioned much of the company’s manufacturing out of China to ameliorate the staggering impact of the 2018 spike in 301 tariffs. With 60% of their products shipping to the US, building in China became too costly, and the company moved production to other countries.
That proving ground made Hughes a great get for Beyonics, who can cost-effectively deliver complex low to mid volume projects once driven to China. That comes in particularly handy with early stage medical device and laboratory equipment customers. “When we find young, promising companies that haven't gotten through their qualifications with FDA approval, we will go through that process with them, rent space within our Singapore building to them and help them through the process.
“We don't do that for every company, but we'll do it for a company that looks like they're on to something. It’s an important niche, especially now where China used to always satisfy that demand. With us you don’t have to go into China.” The company’s Southeast Asia capacities relieve firms from the worry around issues of IP theft in China, which were the impetus for the initial application of 301 tariffs several years ago. “Singapore has respect for IP and is committed to being very fair, so these issues don’t come up in Southeast Asia. Our customers really value the way we treat their proprietary information.”
Culture also has a vital part to play in Beyonics’ success. As Hughes concluded, “We are creating a family atmosphere at the company where everyone treats each other with respect and everyone helps each other get the job done for the customer.
“We hold ourselves to a high quality standard and we are committed to serving our customers every single day. We know we have to think outside the box … that we have to innovate to come up with insights to help our customers differentiate their products in the marketplace. We see ourselves as part of the customers’ supply chain, and we understand if we want to grow we need to help our customers grow.”
