Improvement Potentials in Swedish Electronics Manufacturing Industry–Analysis of Five Case Studies

A method for analysing the profitability of manufacturing facilities has been developed to understand how to improve the competitiveness of the Swedish electronics manufacturing industry. This paper presents the results of five case studies carried out at Swedish electronics manufacturers. During these case studies the method has been tested and further developed. Several areas of improvement have been identified with focus on productivity increase of surface mount assembly lines and manual through-hole assembly. Since the characteristics of the studied production facilities can be found world wide, it's assumed that the results can be valid at least in other high-cost countries.