A Cure for Sparton?

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Not sure I how missed this earlier, but Sparton now breaks out its EMS revenue from its ODM work.

That, coupled with the company’s restructuring into three business units (the third is medical), makes the cynic in me think they are positioning the EMS unit for sale. The website now touts the medical and defense businesses (read: sonobuoys) as on equal footing with EMS work. The company has lost Honeywell, which was once one of its largest customers, and closed the plant in Albuquerque that once was owned by that OEM.

More relevant, in terms of sales, EMS is no longer the firm’s largest business, having slipped one point behind medical in the most recent quarter. In terms of profitability, defense is the easy winner, followed by medical, while EMS remains in the red.

Disclosure: This is just idle speculation. I’m not floating any ideas and have no specific knowledge of Sparton’s plans. It’s just what it looks like to me.

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About Mike

Mike Buetow is president of the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (pcea.net). He previously was editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and PCD&F, the leading publication for printed circuit design and fabrication. He spent 21 years as vice president and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversaw all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 30 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow