Item 1. Business
Item 1. BUSINESS
Background
Key Tronic Corporation was organized in 1969, as a Washington corporation that locally manufactured computer keyboards. The ability to design, build and deliver a quality product led us to become a leading independent manufacturer of keyboards for computers in the United States. Our fully integrated design, tooling, and automated manufacturing capabilities enabled us to rapidly respond to customers’ needs for keyboards in production quantities worldwide. We supported our sales growth through the development and purchase of international manufacturing facilities. As the computer keyboard market matured with increasing competition from other international providers, we determined that our business could no longer solely rely on keyboard sales.
After assessing market conditions and our strengths and capabilities, we shifted our focus from keyboard manufacturing to contract manufacturing for a wide range of products. Our unique strategic attributes are based on our core strengths of innovative design and engineering expertise in electronics, mechanical engineering, sheet metal fabrication and stamping, and precision plastics combined with high-quality, low cost production, and assembly on an international basis while providing exceptional customer service. These strengths have made our company a strong competitor in the contract manufacturing market.
Our Industry and Strategy
The expansion of the contract manufacturing industry and our acquisitions have allowed us to continue to expand our customer base and the industries that we serve. The increase in new programs represents a growing portion of our revenue and a promising foundation for our future. In keeping with our long-term strategic objectives, we have been successfully building a more diversified customer portfolio, spanning a wider range of industries. We currently offer our customers the following services: integrated electronic and mechanical engineering, precision plastic molding, sheet metal fabrication, printed circuit board (PCB) and complete product assembly, component selection, sourcing and procurement, worldwide logistics, and new product testing and production all at competitive pricing due to our global footprint. We differentiate ourselves from others our size and larger in the contract manufacturing industry by providing vertical integration, a flexible and responsive approach to our customer’s changing supply demand, and complete design engineering support.
We believe that we are well positioned in the contract manufacturing industry to continue the expansion of our customer base and achieve long-term growth. Our unique blend of multinational facilities, vertical integration, centralized management, and core strengths continue to support our growth and our customers’ needs. We continue to focus on controlling operating expenses and leveraging the synergistic capabilities of our world-class facilities in the United States, Mexico, China and Vietnam. This international production capability provides our customers with the benefits of improved supply-chain management, reduced inventory, lower labor costs, lower transportation costs, and reduced product fulfillment time. Given our competitive advantages and the growing pressure for new potential customers to move forward with their outsourcing strategies, we feel that we are strongly positioned to win new business in coming periods and grow our revenue and profits.
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The contract manufacturing industry is intensely competitive. Although our customer base is growing, we still have less than 1% of the potential global market and our revenue can fluctuate significantly due to reliance on a concentrated base of customers. We are planning for new customer growth in the coming quarters by seeking to secure new programs with new and existing customers, increase our worldwide manufacturing capacity, leverage further our design engineering capabilities and continue to improve our manufacturing and procurement processes and capabilities. Ongoing challenges that we face include but are not limited to the following: continuing to win programs from new and existing customers, balancing capital employed, production capacity and key personnel in support of new customer programs, improving operating efficiencies, controlling costs while developing competitive pricing strategies, and successfully transitioning new program wins to full production.
Customers and Marketing
We provide a mix of manufacturing services for outsourced Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) products. We provide the following services: product design, surface mount technologies (SMT) and pin through hole capability for printed circuit board assembly, tool making, precision plastic molding, sheet metal fabrication and painting, liquid injection molding, complex assembly, prototype design and full product assembly.
Sales of the majority of our products have not historically been seasonal in nature, but may be seasonal in the future if there are changes in the types of products manufactured. Sales can, however, fluctuate significantly between quarters from changes in customers and customer demand due to the concentration of sales generated by our largest customers.
For the fiscal years 2023 and 2022, the five largest customers in each year accounted for 36% and 40% of combined total net sales, respectively. We continue to diversify our customer base by adding additional programs and customers. We expect net sales to our five largest customers as a percentage of total net sales to approximate current levels going forward.
The following table summarizes the customers that represented 10% or more of total net sales during the last two fiscal years:
Percentage of Net Sales by Fiscal Year
2023 2022
Customer A 12% 12%
There can be no assurance that the Company’s principal customers will continue to purchase products from the Company at current levels. Moreover, the Company typically does not enter into long-term volume purchase contracts with its customers, and the Company’s customers have certain rights to extend or delay the shipment of their orders. The loss of one or more of the Company’s major customers, or the reduction, delay or cancellation of orders from such customers, could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition.
We market our products and services primarily through our direct sales department which is comprised of strategically located field sales people and distributors. We also maintain relationships with several independent sales organizations to assist in marketing our product lines.
Manufacturing
We have continually made investments in developing and expanding a capital equipment base to achieve vertical integration and efficiencies in our manufacturing processes. We have invested significant capital into SMT for volume manufacturing of complex printed circuit board assemblies and in our metal shop providing precision metal stamping, fabricating, and finishing. We also design and develop tooling for injection molding and sheet metal fabrication and manufacture the majority of plastic and sheet metal parts used in the products we manufacture. Additionally, we have equipment to maintain a controlled clean environment for manufacturing processes that require a high level of precise control.
We use a variety of manual and automated assembly processes in our facilities, depending upon product complexity and degree of customization. Some examples of automated processes include component insertion, SMT, selective soldering, flexible robotic assembly, computerized vision system quality inspection, laser turrets, automated switch and key top installation, robotic welding, automated powder coat application, and automated functional testing.
Our engineering expertise and automated manufacturing processes enable us to work closely with our customers during the design and prototype stages of production and to jointly increase productivity and reduce response time to the marketplace. We use computer-aided design techniques and software to assist in preparation of the tool design layout and component placement, to reduce tooling and production costs, improve component and product quality, and enhance turnaround time during product development.
We purchase materials and components for our products from many different suppliers, including both domestic and international sources. We develop close working relationships with our suppliers, many of whom have been supplying products to us for several years.
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Research, Development, and Engineering
As part of our long-term strategy, we are committed to supporting our customers by providing research, development, and engineering services. We have seen an increase in the success of providing design support on existing and potential customers in differentiating ourselves. We believe these services allow us to facilitate in optimizing new product designs, and the production processes of our customers’ programs.
Research, development, and engineering (RD&E) expenses consist principally of employee related costs, third party development costs, program materials costs, depreciation, and allocated information technology and facilities costs.
Competition
The market for the products and services we provide is highly competitive. There are numerous competitors in the contract manufacturing industry, many of which have substantially more resources and are more geographically diverse than we are. Some of our competitors have similar international production capabilities, large financial resources and some have substantially greater manufacturing, research and development, and marketing resources. There is also competition from the manufacturing operations of our current and potential customers, who are continually evaluating the merits of manufacturing their products internally versus the advantages of outsourcing. We believe that we can currently compete favorably in these areas primarily on the basis of our international footprint, responsiveness, creativity, vertical production capability, quality, and cost.
Trademarks
Our name and logo are federally registered trademarks, and we believe they are valuable assets of our business.
Employees
We consider our employees to be our primary strength and we make considerable efforts to maintain a well-qualified workforce. Our employee benefits include bonus programs involving periodic payments to all employees based on meeting quarterly or fiscal year performance targets. We regularly provide transportation, medical services, and meals to all of our employees in foreign locations. The Company also has defined contribution plans available to U.S. employees who have attained age 21 and provide group health, life, and disability insurance plans. We also maintain share based compensation plans and other long-term incentive plans for certain employees and outside directors.
As of July 1, 2023, we had 5,447 full-time employees compared to 4,897 on July 2, 2022. Since we can have significant fluctuations in product demand, we seek to maintain flexibility in our workforce by utilizing skilled temporary labor in some of our manufacturing facilities in addition to full-time employees.
Backlog
On July 29, 2023, our order backlog was valued at approximatel y $343.0 million, compared to approximately $407.8 million on July 30, 2022. The amount of backlog is not necessarily indicative of future sales but can be indicative of trends in expected future sales revenue. Due to the relationships with our customers, we will occasionally allow orders to be canceled or rescheduled and as a result it is not a meaningful indicator of future financial results. If there are canceled or rescheduled orders, we typically negotiate fees to cover the costs we have incurred. Order backlog consists of purchase orders received for products expected to be shipped approximately within the next twelve months, although shipment dates are subject to change due to design modifications, customer forecast changes, or other customer requirements.
Foreign Markets
Information concerning net sales and long-lived assets (property, plant, and equipment) by geographic areas is set forth in Footnote “Enterprise-Wide Disclosures” of the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and that information is incorporated herein by reference.
Governmental Regulation
Our operations are subject to certain foreign, federal, state and local regulations relating to, among others, environmental, waste management, labor and health and safety matters. We have implemented processes and procedures to help ensure that our operations are in substantial compliance with all applicable regulations. However, material costs and liabilities may arise from these requirements or from new or modified requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Information about Our Executive Officers.
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The table below sets forth the name, current age and current position of our executive officers and other significant employees:
Name Age Positions Held
Executive Officers
Craig D. Gates 64 President and Chief Executive Officer
Brett R. Larsen 50 Executive Vice President of Administration, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer
Philip S. Hochberg 61 Executive Vice President of Business Development
Duane D. Mackleit 55 Executive Vice President of Operations
David H. Knaggs 42 Executive Vice President of Quality and Information Systems
Chad T. Orebaugh 52 Executive Vice President of Engineering
Mark Courtney 57 Vice President of Supply Chain
Executive Officers
CRAIG D. GATES – President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Gates, age 64, has been President and Chief Executive officer of the Company since April 2009. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager from August 2002 to April 2009. He served as Executive Vice President of Marketing, Engineering and Sales from July 1997 to August 2002 and served as Vice President and General Manager of New Business Development from October 1995 to July 1997. He joined the Company as Vice President of Engineering in October of 1994. From 1982 to 1991 he held various engineering and management positions within the Microswitch Division of Honeywell, Inc., in Freeport, Illinois, and from 1991 to October 1994 he served as Director of Operations, Electronics for Microswitch. Mr. Gates has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Urbana.
BRETT R. LARSEN – Executive Vice President of Administration, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer
Mr. Larsen, age 50, has served as Executive Vice President of Administration, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer since July 2015. Previously, he was Vice President of Finance and Controller from February 2010 to July 2015. He was Chief Financial Officer of FLSmidth Spokane, Inc. from December 2008 to February 2010. From October 2005 through November 2008, Mr. Larsen served as Controller of Key Tronic Corporation. From May 2004 to October 2005, Mr. Larsen served as Manager of Financial Reporting of Key Tronic Corporation. From 2002 to May 2004, Mr. Larsen was an audit manager for the public accounting firm BDO USA, LLP. He also held various auditing and supervisory positions with Grant Thornton LLP from 1997 to 2002. Mr. Larsen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
PHILIP S. HOCHBERG – Executive Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Hochberg, age 61, has been Executive Vice President of Business Development since July 2012. Prior to this, Mr. Hochberg served as Vice President of Business Development from October 2009 through June 2012. He was Director of Business Development and Program Management from July 2008 to October 2009. Mr. Hochberg served as Director of Business Development from October 2004 to July 2008 and as Director of EMS Sales and Marketing from July 2000 to October 2004. Prior to joining Key Tronic, Mr. Hochberg worked for Quinton Instrument Company as their Director of Marketing and Product Management from 1992 to 2000. From 1988 to 1992, he was employed by SpaceLabs Medical as their Business Development Marketing Manager. Mr. Hochberg has an MBA from the University of British Columbia, a BA in Psychology, with a minor in Business from Washington University in St. Louis.
DUANE D. MACKLEIT – Executive Vice President of Operations
Mr. Mackleit, age 55, has been Executive Vice President of Operations since December 2019. Prior to this, Mr. Mackleit served as Vice President of Program Management since July 2012. He served as Director of Program Management from July 2008 through June 2012. From May 2006 to July 2008 he served as Principal Program Manager. Prior to that, he served as Program Manager from March 2002 to May 2006 and Associate Program Manager from August 2000 to March 2002. Mr. Mackleit has also held several other positions with Key Tronic Corporation. Mr. Mackleit has an AA in Business from Spokane Falls Community College and a BA in Business/Marketing from Eastern Washington University. He also holds a MBA from Gonzaga University.
DAVID H. KNAGGS – Executive Vice President of Quality, Regulatory Affairs and Information Systems
Mr. Knaggs, age 42, has been Executive Vice President of Quality and Information Systems since May 2021. Previously, he was Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs from November 2017 to May 2021. He was Vice President of Quality since October 2016. Before joining Key Tronic, Mr. Knaggs worked at Telect, Inc. from 2008 to 2016 as their Director of
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Engineering. Prior to that, he worked at Isothermal Systems Research as Lead Systems Engineer from 2003 to 2008. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in mathematics from the University of Washington.
CHAD T. OREBAUGH – Executive Vice President of Engineering
Mr. Orebaugh, age 52, has been Executive Vice President of Engineering since September 2021. Previously he served as Vice President of Engineering since April 2017. Prior to this, Mr. Orebaugh served as Director of Engineering since May 2013. From April 2010 to May 2013, he served as Manager of Engineering. From January 2000 to April 2010 he served as Lead Mechanical Engineer. Prior to that, he served as Mechanical Engineer from October 1998 to January 2000 and Associate Mechanical Engineer since October 1997. Mr. Orebaugh holds a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Gonzaga University.
MARK COURTNEY – Vice President of Supply Chain
Mark Courtney, age 57, has been Vice President of Supply Chain of the company since August 2019. Previously, he served as Purchasing Manager and Director of North American Purchasing from September 2015 to August 2019, and as Supply Chain Manager, ERP and Business Operations Manager for Amphenol Telect from August 2007 to September 2015. From March 2006 to August 2007, he served as Senior Buyer/Planner for Honeywell Specialty Materials and from June 2005 to March 2006 as Purchasing Manager for MRV Communications. From May 2000 to June 2005, he served as a Field and Inside Sales Associate for Arrow Electronics and from October 1991 to May 2000 held various positions at Alesis.
Available Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 4424 North Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley, Washington 99216, and our telephone number is (509) 928-8000. Our website is located at http://www.keytronic.com where filings of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K are available free of charge after they have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information presented on our website currently and in the future is not considered to be part of this document or any document incorporated by reference in this document.
In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site (at www.sec.gov ) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.