How PTG Electronics Wins in Low Volume, High Mix, Mid-Complexity Manufacturing, with CEO Nick Wasserman

A rebrand can be cosmetic, or it can be a line in the sand about what you build and how you want to grow. I’m joined by Nick Wasserman, President and CEO of PTG Electronics (formerly Pinnacle Technology Group), to unpack why a 40-year, family-owned EMS company in Southeast Michigan changed its name and what that clarity unlocks with customers who need serious electronics manufacturing services, not commodity volume. Nick shares how the business has transitioned leadership, stayed resilient through diversification, and kept its identity rooted in disciplined quality systems. 

We spend a big part of the conversation on PTG’s newly earned AS9100 aerospace certification and what it signals to aerospace and mil-aero buyers looking for traceability, repeatability, and a partner who can handle mid-volume, higher-complexity electronics assembly. That naturally connects to the surge of activity in the drone space, where startups and newer entrants are moving fast and need an EMS partner who can help with design for manufacturability, documentation readiness, and ramp planning, not just build-to-print execution. If you’ve ever watched a promising prototype stumble in production, you’ll recognize why “manufacturable at the right scale” is the real standard. 

Nick also explains how digital transformation and AI are changing the unsexy but crucial parts of contract manufacturing: speed to quote, speed to onboard, and speed to launch purchasing. We talk about the balance between turning quotes quickly and still delivering pricing that reflects real sourcing, plus the supply chain turbulence hitting the industry, from memory constraints to emerging FR4 laminate concerns for printed circuit boards. We close with how tariffs, second-sourcing strategies, and regional manufacturing “arms” are pushing more work toward US EMS providers, including opportunities where PTG supports turnkey fulfillment and even ships directly to end customers. 

If you care about aerospace manufacturing, drone hardware, EMS partnership models, AI in manufacturing operations, or the reality of today’s electronics supply chain, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with the biggest constraint you’re seeing right now.

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 0:08

Hello, I'm Philip Stoughton from My House to Yours. Welcome to EMS at Sea Level. I am joined by Nick Wasserman. Nick is the CEO of PTG, uh, used to be Pinnacle Technology Group. Nick, give me a brief introduction to you and the company, and um then we'll dig into a bit of the detail. Give us an idea of the scale as well.

PTG Electronics Rebrand And History

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 0:32

Yeah, great. Uh thanks for having me on. Um, yeah, so uh PTG Electronics, uh formerly Pinnacle Technology Group, uh, we made the branding switch as of January 1st, 2026, um, mainly just to uh kind of add clarity to who we are as a business. The the term Pinnacle was overused and was getting lost really in the uh in the ethos of the world. So we um we kind of paid homage by the acronym, but then added the electronics to really kind of cement in who we are and what we do. Um but PTG at its core is a 40-year-old business at this point. Um it we were established in 1984. Um, it was a company that my my father uh took over ownership in 1996, and our family's owned it ever since. Um, as of the last uh three to four years, we've been in a transition period where he's starting to step away and into retirement, and I've kind of taken over the um the day-to-day uh operational business.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 1:28

Yeah. And dad's down in Florida, I think.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 1:30

Yeah, for part of the year, mainly the cold weather months. Yeah. So uh you don't came here much during from October to April. So that's nice.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 1:38

There you go. That gives you a chance to get on with stuff, doesn't it? So let's explore some of the markets and

Market Mix And ISO Foundation

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 1:44

what you're into. You you've recently added a few approvals, which maybe gives you access to some different markets. Give me an idea of the market mix and uh what you specialize in.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 1:53

Yeah, so we've been uh ISO 9001 certified for about 25 years at this point, and we um we historically operated in that commercial and industrial marketplace. Um, we're very diversified in the products and companies that we service, and that's by design. Um, that allows us to gain expertise in multiple areas, but it also um allows us to hedge some of those uh tougher economic times a little bit better. Um and that's that's paid dividends over the years. Um and so um, but most recently, um, and in just as of uh uh

AS9100 Certification And Aerospace Fit

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 2:26

uh two weeks ago, we are AS 9100 aerospace certified. So um that's been a strategic initiative that we've been um working on now for about the last year, year and a half. Okay. And really the the idea behind that is um, you know, one, it's a it's it is a good growth market just in general. Um but then also it it really fits our niche and our model better. We're not a super high volume manufacturer, we're really looking for the higher complexity stuff in that yeah, more mid-range volume type of space.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 2:58

Yeah, and that makes sense, doesn't it? You want that challenging work, you want the stuff where the relationship becomes really important, and uh it's not just about scale and shaping every every every cent of the uh of the cost that becomes hugely valuable, doesn't it? Um when you look at that millero space, it's tends to be a little bit more full with the with the uh mill side of things.

Drone Growth And Michigan Momentum

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 3:22

There's lots going on in the drone space uh in different areas. Is that business that you're looking at and you're starting to see inquiries for?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 3:30

Yeah, yeah. And so that that has been a huge uptick. I mean, we were excited to get into Aero in general, and we've been um our sales efforts has have been kind of been across the board in terms of um anyone in that in that market. Um, but we have seen a significant interest in the drone space. Uh currently we're engaged uh at least at a quoting level with about five different companies that all have kind of their unique spin on drone marketplace, the types of uh, you know, areas again within that that they serve. Um and that's been really, really cool. Uh in quite honestly, you know, we're based here in Southeast Michigan. Um, we've seen a tremendous amount of activity in Michigan. So it seems like that's a uh there's a lot of drone activity specifically here in this state as well. So it's been pretty exciting for us.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 4:16

Yeah, and do you see that as drone companies that were perhaps commercial previously and were much more in the pro-consumer kind of space, moving into the Mil Aero space, or or are they new startups that are very specific to Mil Aero?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 4:30

So yeah, we have we have a couple, we've got a little blend of both. The majority of them, though, are kind of newer to the space, but they have um, you know, in a lot of cases, they they are they are getting supported by either the government or the aerospace industry to kind of continue to uh design and develop their technologies. Um and and so and obviously the demand seems to be pretty good, at least from what we can tell. Obviously, it's very early stages, but um, you know, a lot of upside it seems.

Startups Need EMS Partnership Early

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 4:57

Yeah, the demand signals are strong. And Nick, I think it's really interesting when you work with these startups that are entering new spaces and want to scale up, they're the ones that can really benefit from a really strong EMS partnership because you can actually become their manufacturing arm, you can teach them supply chain, you can do everything that allows them to focus on getting the product right and getting their own marketing right.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 5:19

Absolutely. And you know, I sometimes it's you know, it it's it's always nice to get some existing business and bring it in because you know that the demand and the forecasting is there, but we do really like getting into some of these things on the on the front end because it allows us not only to get that relationship very strongly built, but we can play a role in the design for manufacturability, making sure that it's not only achieving the goals that they have set, but it's also manufacturable on a repeatable uh you know date. So that that's that's a a tremendous uh upside for us, you know, getting in on the front end.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 5:53

Yeah, and it makes a big difference. It's not just design for manufacturability, it's designed for manufacturability at the right scale, and that means within your within your model of uh of manufacturing.

AI Tools For Quoting And Onboarding

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 6:04

You've done quite a lot of work there since you took over from your father and focused quite heavily on digital transformation. Does that enable you to be a little bit more agile, a little bit faster with these new products? Because the the ramp demand is quite high.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 6:19

Yeah, yeah. So we've um, you know, I obviously the the AI boom is affecting everybody. Um, you know, we I I will not say we were at the forefront of that, but we we did try to adopt a lot of that as early as possible. And uh a lot of that has been um instituted as of late to try to speed those things up and be able to handle this demand. Um so for instance, we've got um we've been recently engaged with uh new quoting tool that is optimizing AI to do that process significantly faster than we used to. Um and even the onboarding. So once we receive a PO, we've got a it's a prototype bot now that will actually process um all of the customer documentation and it will align it, assign part numbers, and get that whole purchasing, and then um, you know, the the lead time gets started much quicker than it would have historically.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 7:11

Yeah, that makes a huge difference. That's like kind of game changer. I think what's fascinating with AI is it's had so many impacts on our industry. It's it's changing the way we operate, which I think is really exciting. And much as I see success in areas you've seen, like supply chain and the business processes that relate to EMS, we haven't seen it perhaps as much as we'd like to on the factory floor. So that's coming. But the other thing it's done is it's created this hyperscaler demand. And much as you might not be building server boards for AI, the custom the companies that are further or are much larger are doing that. I wonder if there's a trickle-down effect where you see more business that they're perhaps leaving behind as they chase that very, very high volume.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 7:58

You know, I I can't say that I have a I have a direct correlation to that, but it is interesting you bring that up because we have seen a significant increase just in overall activity here over the last, especially, you know, year and a half, almost two years now. Um, I mean, the the demand for quote opportunities and just general interest in either switching or different or or you know, new startups that need uh EMS uh support has been significantly higher than it has, you know, in the past several years combined. So um I I I would assume there's a at least a part of that is because of exactly what you mentioned, but I I don't have any data to back that up exactly.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 8:37

So yeah. And when you look at those new quotes and those new companies that are coming in, having that AI-driven speed to quote, which gives you much faster access to what's available, what's what's on allocation in the bill of materials, is that something that they really value? Are they looking for their are they

Supply Chain Shocks Memory And FR4

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 8:56

expecting their quotes to be done and turned around much quicker? And is it like first in best rest? And if you're too late to the party, nobody really wants to hear what you've got to say?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 9:05

Yeah, I mean, there's still a delicate balance between speed and price, right? I mean, we all know that getting getting good, especially when material carry is such a heavy weight in in the overall price point of of an electronics assembly, um, you you really have to be careful how you balance the speed versus the the price that you throw out there. So we can we can do a quote in 48 hours, but it's gonna be list pricing over the internet, and it's probably not gonna be super attractive, right? So um, but but yes, ultimately that what we found is it uh it enables our ability to get that request out to our vendor list is now increased significantly, which allows them to start that clock sooner. So we can we can at least better balance that, getting them a quicker quote with with desirable pricing, um, you know, in a shorter time frame.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 9:53

Yeah. The other thing we've seen with the hyperscalers is an impact on the supply chain um as as you buy materials. We're seeing um blockages in memory, we're seeing semiconductor issues. Recently, I'm starting to hear more about printed circuit board issues, and I think that is a lamina issue rather than the actual printed circuit board capacity. Are those things that are impacting your business?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 10:19

Yeah, I the the mem the memory was obviously kind of the first and foremost. Um it just seems, you know, and then and then it's the trickle-down effect into all of the other parts because the demand is preferenced based upon when you can get those parts. So then the availability of everything else seems to be taking a little bit of a hit kind of, you know, uh after that. But yeah, we've had we've had several customers uh not totally shut down, thankfully, but we are seeing some lengthening of lead times or slight move outs in terms of our production schedule just because things are a little bit late or they're not coming in, you know, the exactly when you it originally anticipated. Um yeah, most recently I was interesting to see the issues with the laminate on the uh the circuit board side. We we do have a nice blend. We get um we do get a percentage of our bear boards here in the United States, um, but fundamentally most of them are built overseas. Um and so that yeah, that FR4 material or the glass issue that they're having, um I can't say I've seen that in my uh history, or at least I don't remember it. So that's a unique uh we're crossing there. So I guess to be determined on exactly what effect that has. Right now, though, we're in at least pretty good uh pretty good spot with regards to our forecasted plan.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 11:36

Yeah, yeah. It is quite surprising. It's not something I've seen in the past, and you know, much as we've decried the reduction of PCB capacity in Europe and in uh uh and in the US as it's all moved to Asia, um it's a surprise that we have the capacity there, but we perhaps can't fill it because of that FR4 material. I don't know what the um capacity of the US to produce FR4 is, but certainly for Europe, most of it's made in uh made in Asia, and that has that has a big effect.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 12:08

Yeah, the the last the last uh data that I had was about four per we do about four percent of our own domestic PCB, true PCB manufacturing, which is obviously a very, very small amount. Where I think at one point it was you know 60, 60 to 70 percent, um many years ago now, but uh yeah, it's uh it it it we rely very heavily on overseas.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 12:31

Yeah, absolutely. I think it was one of those products that shifted overseas very quickly because it was easy to produce and pretty easy to ship around the world. So

Tariffs Reshoring And Second Sourcing

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 12:40

uh we'll see how that corrects. When you when you think about all those additional bids that you've been you that you've been receiving and quotes you've been doing, do you think some of that is the impact of tariffs? Do you think the the trade um the trade war or the decoupling a little bit and the um swing back from globalization is actually producing more demand for US EMS companies, particularly at your scale?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 13:05

Yeah, I I mean I I do think it at the very least it got people thinking that a second source was more of a fundamental need as opposed to uh maybe a nice to have previously. Um and so I I do see where a lot of that was kind of driven by that uncertainty over the last year with the regard to the tariff um scenarios. But um, you know, it it is nice to see that because obviously we are a sole United States uh company, so we we don't have any kind of an overseas um um support system, and um so having having those opportunities come in is really great, and and we have seen uh a few of them transition too. So um I do think at some levels some of that might have just been quoting activity for the sake of quoting activity, yeah. Um, but at the same time, it got people thinking about it, which I do believe is is a good thing for the longevity of our industry as a whole. I mean, especially you consider how everything anymore has circuit circuitry and and intelligence in it. So it's the demand's only going up. So, you know, having having the ability to balance that is important.

Foreign Firms US Builds And Fulfillment

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 14:09

Yeah. What about foreign companies like European companies that think, okay, well, we're manufacturing some of our products inside um inside Asia, some inside Europe, but with the current environment, we perhaps need a little bit of manufacturing in the U.S. Are you seeing companies from outside the U.S. come to you?

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 14:27

Yeah, in in fact, we do have we have a current opportunity now that we're we're still in the the quoting stages of um a company out of Europe that has uh asked us to quote their product, and um all you know, their whole intent would be for the product to be built here in America, and then they have a um a sales office set up here, and um we would essentially kind of house that product for them, and then they would use a distribution company to ship that off elsewhere. But that was uh I I was excited to see that too, and it and it seemed like it was a kind of a smart move because they that's how they've set their business up. They have an Asian arm, a European arm, and now a North American arm, which I think is going to be really great for them long term.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 15:07

And that's really great for you, Nick, because it really shows you a skill in terms of not just how you manufacture, about that kind of configure to order, build-to-order kind of model where where you're actually the front end of the fulfillment as well at the at that end. It feels very much like that's some of the true turnkey value of EMS.

Nick Wasserman, President & CEO of PTG Electronics 15:26

Yeah, and really that's that's what we've always kind of prided ourselves on is doing as much as the customer needs us to do for them. So um, you know, this isn't our first time around with uh almost kind of full-blown fulfillment. I mean, we've had we had a customer in the past that they told us all they wanted to do is cash checks. So we actually had a stockpile of product and we would ship it, we shipped it around the country to uh individual customers, which was kind of unique. We had our pack slips had their logo on it. I mean, it was it was kind of fully fully done, which is interesting.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 15:57

Yeah, and I do think it's really neat, and it actually shows a a great degree

Partnership Value And Closing

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 16:02

of confidence in what you're doing if you if your um if your customer is happy for you to ship direct to their customer. That shows a real com commitment to that partnership. And those those partnerships are where you really add value and you really build those sticky relationships. So that's uh that's super important and super valuable. Nick, congratulations on what you're doing. Keep doing it, keep uh keep keep us informed of uh new developments, and I look forward to chatting again to you soon. But thanks so much for your time. Thank you for having me.