Houston-based tech startup MacroFab, which provides a manufacturing-on-demand platform, says it experienced “record growth” in 2018.
The company says it is “revolutionizing the electronics manufacturing industry” by building a marketplace that will benefit both its customers and contract manufacturers.
The company experienced a record-breaking year in 2018, marked by aggressive growth in bookings and revenue, an ever-increasing number of repeat customers, a new CEO and expanded management team entering 2019.
MacroFab builds printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies and finished electronics products at both low and high volume quantities through its proprietary online platform.
They provide these turnkey manufacturing services for a variety of industries including:
- industrial internet of things;
- digital oilfield;
- robotics;
- drones;
- industrial automation; and
- consumer electronics.
The company has built a successful business model through its online platform and is now creating the first vertical manufacturing marketplace in the electronics industry.
By the numbers
Since being founded in 2013, MacroFab’s easy-to-use online platform and outstanding level of customer service have helped hundreds of customers get their products to market.
Through their turnkey services, customers can stay with MacroFab throughout their product’s creation lifecycle from prototype to production. This model has helped the company grow substantially in 2018.
Some highlights include:
- 120 percent growth in sales.
- 37 percent increase in repeat customers per quarter.
- Expansion of the manufacturing network to US factories and capacity growth in Mexico.
- 27x increase in manufacturing network production volume.
- Industry-leading Net Promoter Score of 55 percent (industry standard is -3)
- MacroFab weekly podcast has more than 300,000 total downloads
Growing management team
MacroFab made key personnel changes in 2018 that have strengthened its leadership team.
In November, the company announced that Misha Govshteyn joined the team as chief executive officer.
Founder and former CEO, Chris Church moved into a new role as chief product officer. Scott Stearns has joined as director of supply chain.
Taylor Smith has been promoted to Director of Account Management and Sales. Lastly, Chris Mullins was hired in October to lead the partner development network as VP of business development.
Building the electronics manufacturing marketplace
The $480 billion electronics manufacturing industry is largely operated by decades-old systems of emails, conference calls and large teams of people.
The software engineering team at MacroFab has built a cloud-based, API-enabled platform that allows customers to upload design files to receive instant quotes and lead times driven by intelligent algorithms.
MacroFab customers can get to market faster by accessing unlimited and on-demand capacity through a growing network of contract manufacturers in the US and Mexico.
Misha Govshteyn, CEO of MacroFab, says: “Our platform is transformational for both our customers and partners.
“We are making it easier than ever before to manufacture their PCBs at higher volumes in North America, through access to as much manufacturing capacity as they need, so they can get to market faster and rely on consistent quality.”
Macrofab customers gain the ability to consume electronics manufacturing as a virtualized resource, which is a more convenient user experience and allows them to scale without looking for new suppliers as they grow.
MacroFab partners gain a source of low overhead manufacturing jobs, allowing them to fully subscribe their factory capacity and eliminate idle time.
The production process is driven by the company’s digital platform at every stage of production to ensure just-in-time logistics management and guaranteed quality of service.
Govshteyn says: “The dominant trend we’re seeing is a return to manufacturing in North America for most critical technologies, where electronics production is a growing $70 billion industry.
“Our fastest growth segments are in robotics, automotive and industrial IoT, and it’s not only due to trade conflicts and tariffs.
“We consistently hear that IP protection, supply chain security, digital-first experience and ability to work within the same continent is essential to rapid product iteration.
“We’re not talking about commodity electronics. These are highly complex industrial products with rapidly evolving designs.”
In what can take other contract manufacturers months to go from quoting to full production, MacroFab has found a way to shorten the manufacturing timeline, benefitting entrepreneurs and businesses around the world.
The startup says it is “effectively changing the way that the industry operates, by helping realize new innovations and by bringing new electronic devices into the market more affordably and more easily than ever before”.
