How Vertical Integration Builds Smarter Defense Supply Chains with HANZA CSO Mattias Lindhe

War has sped up everything—demand signals, lead times, and the tolerance for fragile supply chains. I sit down with Mattia Lindhe, HANZA's Chief Strategy Officer at their recent Capital Markets Day to dig into HANZA's Lynx program’s twofold mission: deliver urgent support for Ukraine while building a stronger, more resilient European defense base that can scale locally and reliably. Along the way, we open the toolbox on what HANZA's twin superpowers: deep vertical integration that spans heavy mechanics to electronics, and advisory services that rewire supply chains for speed, flexibility, and lower tied-up capital.

From there, we take a sober look at drones. Everyone has a drone program, but not everyone will matter when the market consolidates and drones behave like consumables. We share why picking the right partners beats chasing every RFP, how standardization and scale shape the winners, and where an integrated manufacturer should commit versus collaborate. The question is not “can we build it,” but “should we build it, and with whom,” so that capability compounds rather than fragments.

We also step beyond traditional EMS boundaries. Drawing on HANZA's experience in heavy construction equipment and near-complete systems, we map the conditions where it makes sense to take on full assemblies and even vehicles—provided volumes and regulatory regimes align. The throughline across all of this is clarity: sell what customers need, not only what they want; put the right people on the same side of the table; and align on outcomes that endure through ramps and redesigns. If you care about European defense manufacturing, supply chain resilience, and the real path to scale in a volatile market, this conversation is a pragmatic field guide.

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This podcast is part of series filmed at HANZA's Capital Markets Day in Stockholm on March 10th 2026.

EMS@C-Level is hosted by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Global Electronics Association (https://www.electronics.org)

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.

Transcript

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 0:07

Matthias, great to see you again. Two years on from the acquisition of Orbit One, you're speaking at the Hans of Capital Markets Day, and you're talking specifically today about the opportunities in the defense industry that seem really exciting. You've kind of brought them together under this Lynx program. Tell me a bit about that program.

Twofold Mission: Ukraine And Europe

Vertical Integration As Superpower

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 0:25

First of all, thank you for uh attending. Thank you for traveling to see us and be with us today. Um the Lynx program is shaped basically, it's a twofold initiative. One is to support the situation in Ukraine, and the second one is to uh help Europe strengthen Europe somehow. It's local for local. Um, there are so many great defense companies in Europe that that will need support. Uh maybe they don't know yet, but they will, you know, come to that insight quite soon as the demand for volume starts to increase.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 1:02

Yeah, and I think what's fascinating is much as they maybe haven't come to that conclusion yet, when they come to that conclusion, it'll be a diverse set of needs. And that seems to fit the hands of business model really well. Your superpower is the vertical integration you have. You're able to tackle a job from not necessarily even starting with PCBA, but starting with any other part of the manufacturing process. That gives you unique opportunities.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 1:27

I mean, we can basically take any technology and then kind of reverse engineer that backwards into full assembly, full manufacturing.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 1:37

Yeah.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 1:37

Um, whether we start with mechanics or cables or electronics. So, yes, uh, we are the only company that I see hold that superpower in terms of vertical integration.

Advisory Services And Supply Chains

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 1:48

Yeah, and that superpower seems to stem from being able to optimize the supply chain for them and for you to extract the most value out of it for both parties. And Eric talked about a lot about voice of customer and reflecting customer needs. That's super important in a fast-moving area like defense. We know how challenging that market is at the moment.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 2:07

And I would say any supply chain uh benefits from a solid, good, deep understanding. Uh rewiring of supply chains, uh, reducing tied-up capital, increasing flexibility, um, improving on-time delivery, etc. Any type of activity like that, uh, or any customer will benefit from that. That's what I'm and I mean, defense customers is one thing, uh, but I would say overall, the advisory services that HANSA can provide is if the vertical integration is our first superpower, then the advisory services being help able to help customers and rewire the supply chain, that's the second superpower.

Drone Market Reality Check

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 2:49

Yeah, they are huge when you combine them as well. That's where it becomes particularly valuable. One of the areas that's really interesting in the uh defense market is the drone market. We're seeing a demand for drones, we're seeing a demand for anti-drone drones. We are starting to see drones as a consumable. Is that an area that you see as a as a substantial area of expansion?

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 3:15

We have active drone manufacturing programs. Uh, we have more in the pipeline. The difficulty with drones is that today every defense company has drones. And the question is, who is the right player for the future? It's almost like solar panels. You know, when you and I, you know, 15 years ago we talked about solar panels, they were manufactured everywhere. Today they are probably manufactured in two or three locations worldwide. And I think from a you touched on it, drones is becoming a consumer product. And maybe, yeah, you need to figure out who to work with. Will we manufacture drones? Absolutely. Will it be our core competence? No, I don't think so.

Choosing The Right Customers

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 3:56

No, I'm inclined to agree with you. And I think one of the things that also came through today when I was listening was actually thinking really hard about who hands a customer should be, because hands are customers have to understand the value of hands are in a box and that vertical integration and the manufacturing made easy ethos and the hands are as a as one business kind of model. Um, so in the same theater, you have to you have to really think about who are the winners going to be and do we really fit them.

Partnership Over Transactions

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 4:27

Yeah, and I I always say that you know, we don't want to sell what the customer wants, we want to sell what they need. And being able to get to that level of conversations requires a strong partnership. Yeah, uh, it requires the right people on both sides of the table or the same side of the table. So I I would agree with you, it's the future lies in the correct and right partnerships that gives the opportunity to build these uh superpower enforced uh supply chains.

Beyond EMS: Vehicles And Viability

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 4:59

Yeah, and it starts with openness and it ends with this fierce collaboration. Absolutely, yeah, yeah. That you're really, really good at. Last thing which I thought was fascinating when I was looking at your presentations on the right hand side, you were showing some large vehicles, some armored vehicles and stuff. And I actually thought that doesn't feel very much like EMS, but looking at hands are in a box, looking at the success you've had with Mitsubishi, so looking at those products through a hands a lens, they seem viable problems that you can solve.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 5:27

I mean, we are in the uh heavy construction equipment industry, we don't do complete vehicles, but we we do very close to complete vehicles. Taking the step from that into maybe doing a complete, either unguided or guided vehicle. Um as long as the volumes aren't you know increasing dramatically, as long as it's not under the automotive directive, you know, JIT and all that stuff, then we will for sure continue to venture into that market.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 5:58

Yeah, and it's really exciting, and you're probably uniquely positioned within the traditional EMS world.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 6:04

Again, it's about the superpower of being vertically integrated, having everything from heavy mechanics on one side to cable harnesses and electronics on the other side.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcaster 6:12

Yeah. So lastly, happy birthday. Congratulations for for being somewhere that you're clearly having a really good time. And thank you so much for inviting me and talking to me.

Mattia Lindhe, Chief Strategy Officer, HANZA 6:22

Thank you for taking care.