Company News – Page 2 – Spirit Electronics

Spirit Electronics Honored by Northrop Grumman for Strategic Excellence

Spirit Account Representative Jason Brandsma and Corporate Sales Manager Dan Jasinek

Spirit Electronics was recently recognized as a top Northrop Grumman Corporation supplier for 2022 with their Strategic Excellence Award. Spirit earned the honor for providing electronic components and value-added services that support unique and critical business needs for Northrop Grumman and its customers with outstanding service.

“I’m very proud of the partnership the Spirit team has grown with Northrop Grumman,” says Spirit Electronics CEO Marti McCurdy. “Spirit offers a vertically integrated approach to the supply chain, which is why we are able to offer such strategic support to our customers’ advanced programs.”

Spirit was one of only 24 honorees to receive the Strategic Excellence Award from among Northrop Grumman’s 10,000 global suppliers. This is the second year running for Spirit’s recognition in Northrop Grumman’s supplier awards. Spirit was named a World Class Team Supplier in 2021.

“The performance of Spirit Electronics sets it apart as one of the best of the best supplier partners,” said Matt Bromberg, Corporate Vice President, Global Operations Northrop Grumman. “The expertise and partnership of our supplier teams across the globe demonstrates that together, we are well positioned to meet our customers’ most complex mission needs.”

Spirit Electronics offers strategic supply chain solutions for aerospace and defense customers. Spirit’s products and services include authorized component distribution, MIL-STD-883 testing and qualification, and automated circuit card assembly. Bringing distribution and services in-house under a single supply source allows Spirit to streamline, secure and manage multiple aspects of the supply chain for customers like Northrop Grumman.

Intelligent Memory Added to Spirit Line Card

Intelligent Memory high-mix, low-volume DDR, DRAM and NAND flash now at Spirit Electronics

Spirit Electronics announces authorized distribution for Intelligent Memory high-mix low-volume DDR, DRAM and NAND flash memory components. IM memory is especially important to aerospace and defense customers as a form, fit and function drop-in replacement for obsoleted or end-of-life products of other memory manufacturers.

With a focus on ruggedized, industrial and legacy requirements, IM offers flexible and reliable memory options that can be customized to unique applications and challenging environments.

Intelligent Memory is positioned as a one-stop-shop memory supplier, complementing Spirit’s business model as a one-stop distribution, test and assembly company within the aerospace and defense supply chain. “We share the same approach to delivering reliable and ready-to-launch solutions for our customers,” Spirit CEO Marti McCurdy explains. “Intelligent Memory expands our memory offering to meet the exact size, speed, temperature and performance our customer programs require.”

Intelligent Memory is a fabless memory manufacturer owning design, development, test and manufacturing of unique DRAM components and modules. The brand works with tier-one fabricators and in-house design, testing and quality controls. All IM products are JEDEC compliant, and Spirit’s in-house screening and qualification can elevate product data and reliability to meet strict military standard and aerospace requirements.

As space and defense programs expand to meet faster production timelines, Spirit has seen particular supply chain needs around DDR memory and programs that depend on legacy memory or struggle to replace obsolete memory products. IM memory offers a variety of configurations, densities, features and packaging, including the first DDR3 8GB single-chip component. Many IM products are backwards compatible with those of other memory manufacturers.

Spirit Electronics offers Intelligent Memory alongside a comprehensive line card of authorized industry-leading components, including FPGAs and other integrated circuits. In addition to distribution, Spirit provides MIL-STD-883 testing, radiation testing, solder exchange and circuit card assembly in-house, making it a unique supply chain partner capable of managing complex aerospace program logistics.

About Spirit Electronics:Spirit Electronics is a value-added distributor of a wide range of electronic components, testing, circuit board assembly and logistics services. Spirit’s supply chain solutions are changing the definition of distribution by providing in-house value-added services to deliver products to aerospace and defense customers fully qualified and ready to use. Spirit is a veteran-owned, woman-owned small business (VOWOSB) with HUBZone certification in Phoenix, AZ.

Lockheed Martin Space Outstanding Small Business for 2022

Lockheed Martin Outstanding Small Business 2022

Spirit Electronics is proud to announce its selection as an Outstanding Small Business for Lockheed Martin’s Space division for 2022. One of only five suppliers in the country to receive the award, Spirit achieved 100% on-time-delivery and 99.45% quality scores. Spirit provides Lockheed Martin Space with authorized distribution and full-turnkey test and assembly for microelectronics and semiconductors.

The Lockheed Space division estimates it will spend approximately $5.4 billion in 2022 with small businesses, generating economic growth and taking advantage of small business strengths in innovation and agility. Lockheed Martin Space’s Orion program alone includes 2,900 suppliers, with approximately 50% being small businesses like Spirit.

“This is truly a team effort to win service awards and recognition from our customers,” says Spirit CEO Marti McCurdy. “From our dedicated account representatives to our sales and purchasing, our warehouse inspectors, our lab, our quality and even admin teams, everyone at Spirit pours excellence into their work. It shows in our processes, customer satisfaction and relationships.”

Spirit is a woman-owned, veteran-owned and HUBZone certified small business. In the past 5 years, the team has grown from under ten to more than thirty employees. Spirit purchased and renovated a 16,000sf facility in a historically underutilized business zone in Phoenix in 2019. Spirit expanded from its roots as an authorized microelectronics and semiconductor distributor to offer MIL-STD-883 testing services, BGA solder exchange and an in-house circuit board assembly line.

“This team truly embodies the tenacity and personal service of a small business,” says McCurdy. “We are on a mission to redefine the supply chain by bringing multiple services and efficiency under one supplier for our customers, and this award shows we are achieving that with the best quality of service.”

Spirit Electronics Adds MIL-STD-883 Test Services with DLA Commercial Lab Suitability

Semiconductor Temp Cycling at Spirit Electronics

“At the end of the day, these tests are your mission insurance, and DLA lab suitability ensures we’re meeting the high-reliability requirements of the military standards.” – Marti McCurdy

Small Businesses Support Big Programs: 5 Reasons to Go Small in Aerospace & Defense

Spirit Electronics sent a letter to the White House last week in support of an increased budget for the F-35 Lightning II program. The letter was co-signed by ten small businesses across the United States who are part of the F-35 supply chain. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 assembly line is currently planning to produce 156 planes per year in 2023 and onward. The small business requested increase would support an additional 100 planes per year to be delivered to the US Armed Forces and international allies.

This manufacturing schedule would be impossible without the support of our nation’s small businesses. Spirit Electronics takes pride in supporting the only 5^th generation fighter jet protecting our troops and national security worldwide. The program means more than just military security for many businesses. It can also mean economic security. Such far-reaching manufacturing programs bring jobs and economic investment to local communities across the nation.

If you’re looking for a partner for your next A&D program, here are 5 reasons why a small business can go above and beyond.

1. Dedicated & Agile Program Support

Spirit has 17 personnel dedicated to supporting the F-35 supply chain. With a team of about 25 members, this would be most of our business! But Team Spirit supports multiple customer programs among government prime contractors.

Our team has the flexibility to support multiple programs with our customer service and advanced business systems. We invested in customizing a powerful ERP system to manage purchase orders and shipment dates that offers real-time updates and reporting. We can manage your program’s full BOM (bill of materials) to order all your components from across the supply chain. We can cross reference part numbers to get you the best product for your needs.

With the allocation environment in the electronics market, order dates are at risk of moving out and lead times are extending. Spirit’s customer support can stay on top of your order dates, inform you of changes and take action to pull in or adjust order deliveries proactively.

In small business, we are used to cross training and filling many roles. Collaboration is easier. We can customize our testing services and logistics services, like SMI programs, and bring all your parts and services under one purchase order.

2. Responsive Product Quality and Safety

Spirit operates with an AS9100-certified quality management system that supports every aspect of our business. While also certified under ISO9001, AS9100 certification means operating with an understanding of product quality and safety in mission-critical aerospace programs. Being a small business with AS9100 lets us train our team and develop our processes to meet requirements more easily.

When your product comes in the door, we perform inspections, use ESD control and handling procedures and have a secure and environmentally controlled warehouse for your inventory. Our XRF analysis and test programs provide you with product data to guarantee your lot meets aerospace and defense requirements.

We manage the quality of your supply chain for you. Our inspections stop orders with documentation errors and physical defects. We resolve quality issues before parts ship to you. We work with each of our suppliers to make sure that your order is complete, handled properly, documented and shipped with quality and product safety top of mind.

As a small team, every employee is trained in ESD control, counterfeit prevention, ITAR and product safety. Our safety awareness is greater and can be more easily embedded in our daily operations.

3. Industry Specialization

As a small business, we can specialize our services and team training for the aerospace industry. We know the ins-and-outs of aerospace and defense regulatory requirements and industry challenges. Being specialized lets us make sure we understand and meet requirements on every order.

Our team understands the contract review process, and we have grown relationships with our manufacturers to make sure we work together to meet your order requirements. We set up our business programs to manage ITAR, counterfeit prevention and cybersecurity. When you order from us, you can be confident that your supply chain is supporting A&D regulatory programs.

4. Community and Economic Investment

When you buy with small businesses, you support local communities. This holds true at Spirit Electronics. The F-35 Lightning II program, while a national operation, generates over $1 billion in economic impact for our state of Arizona. Of the 1,800 businesses supporting the F-35 Lightning II, over 1,000 are small businesses providing more than 250,000 jobs nationally.

We invest our revenue back into our small business. We have hired new employees and trained team members new to aerospace and defense, growing our industry’s talent. Our Phoenix facility started as a vacant suite in a HUBZone, but we have invested in full building renovations. We now have 2,000 sq ft of warehouse space along with a test lab and a contract manufacturing line.

And we didn’t stop there. We started Spirit Gives, our nonprofit that is hosting events and drives to support our local neighborhood kids and families. Small business economic impact can reach communities on a local and personal level.

5. Small Business Spend Credit

Small Business spending credits can be a cherry on top of going small with your supply chain partners. The federal government requires a certain amount of federal contract dollars to be awarded to businesses in certain categories. By working with a small business, your program can meet contract requirements in these spending categories. The government’s goal is to diversify its supply chain in recognition of the critical economic growth and investment small businesses provide.

Spirit is a veteran-owned, woman-owned small business with HUBZone certification. We are certified with the Small Business Administration to meet these ownership qualities. Our HUBZone certification supports our investment in revitalizing our local community. Credit toward the federal program helps make sure that we continue our local economic impact.

Small Business Partners

Small Businesses are expert innovators with highly skilled teams offering quick service. Your program, like the F-35 Lightning II, can benefit from skilled and agile support, specialized services and the opportunity for community economic investment.

To work with Spirit Electronics, get a quote for a single part or even upload your full BOM for us to help you review. And don’t forget to ask about your testing, value-add and logistics options so your parts arrive ready to use.

Spirit’s Veterans Continue to Support the Military Mission: Veteran Owned, Veteran Driven

Phoenix Business Journal this week named Spirit Electronics as the #10 largest Veteran-Owned business in the City of Phoenix. Our CEO Marti McCurdy, a US Air Force veteran, leads the company, but a heavy veteran team presence also helps drive Spirit’s mission and business growth.

Spirit’s value-added services and supply chain support in aerospace and defense includes delivering qualified high-reliability electronics to the military and prime contractors. While supporting this business mission, we also want to honor the veteran experiences and personal sacrifices that drive our team to succeed.

Our Veteran Experience in Military Service

Spirit CEO Marti McCurdy is a proud veteran of the US Air Force. But our experience in service gives us more than a small business boost. Our veterans have come from all branches of the military, with experience in aircraft to ground missions. We have always found our veterans bring an expert mindset to our business with tactical understanding of product safety and reliability, standards compliance and product requirements. Our veterans know first-hand why their team roles matter to the mission on the front lines.

Continuing to Support Military Programs: the F-35 Lightning II

Our components support mission-critical operations on the ground and in the air, with aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II elite fighter jet. Telling the story of her transition out of the Air Force, Marti explained, “I got out and thought, where are the F-111s? What am I going to do?”

This is one reason why our veterans excel in our aerospace and defense business—we continue to put their technical and hands-on potential to use in direct support of customer programs like the F-35. Spirit supplies components for the programmatic gate array for the F-35 avionics systems. Over 17 Spirit staff members support this program, including Warehouse Manager Jeremy Rolin, who previously supported the F-35 through aircraft maintenance in the US Air Force.

Spirit is one of 1,800 companies that support the F-35 Lightning II production line, and the program brings over $1 billion into our local Arizona economy. Read more about the F-35 Lightning II program.

Supporting Veterans in Our Civilian Workforce

Our veteran staff know the stress involved in career transitions. In fact, knowing how to prioritize, brush off stress, and focus on the team goal is one of the reasons we love our veteran hires. Marti sat down with our veteran team on our podcast to talk about the transition from military to civilian career and how to navigate it successfully.

Marine Corps veteran Thomas Stewart, who manages Spirit’s SMI programs, explained “You deal with a lot of stress in the military, and you’ll deal with a different stress when you get out. I think you have to focus on what you need to do. You learn that in the military, and you learn how to prioritize and focus on how to get the job done.”

“You deal with a lot of stress in the military, and you’ll deal with a different stress when you get out. I think you have to focus on what you need to do. You learn that in the military, and you learn how to prioritize and focus on how to get the job done.”

Spirit Finance Director Chris Sinerius, said he went from operations superintendent in charge of 170 team members to a staff accountant making $15 an hour in charge of nobody. “I think that’s the biggest challenge for a lot of folks is accepting that it’s a start over and that you have to work your way up again, being willing to find those new skills to adapt to the market.”

How can we help our veterans make the transition to a civilian career more easily? Warehouse Manager Jeremy Rolin, who just completed 22 years of service with the Air Force and now works with Team Spirit explains “Spirit actually makes it a little bit easier. The culture was definitely similar but different, in many ways.” Supportive team culture, common goals, and the openness to learning more about military experience and culture have helped our veteran and civilian teammates work together.

We are also no strangers to reserve and guard activations. Many veterans continue to serve while also holding down a civilian career, and activations and deployments can add to the stress and transitions they experience. Our former teammate Zac Scott is currently on deployment and spoke with Marti about transitioning before he left on deployment. “This is actually my first corporate job ever,” Zac said. “ I would say coming in here and being welcomed with open arms—that was amazing. It was a hit the ground running and hey, what do you need for us to help you start learning and be an effective member of the team.”

Spirit Gives Foundation Supports Veterans and Their Families

Being no stranger to the stress of the military, the transitions from duty stations or to civilian life, we created a nonprofit foundation Spirit Gives to extend support to veteran families in our community. Our growing foundation wants to reach families in our area who need support to juggle work, life demands, and their children’s needs.

Spirit Gives holds seasonal donation drives and fundraisers to offer support with basic everyday needs like electric bills, school supplies, and mentorship time. For our current campaigns, visit SpiritGives.org.

Honoring Your Service this Veteran’s Day

To celebrate Veteran’s Day 2021, we want thank all of the military veterans on Team Spirit. Your hard work and experiences enrich our mission and help us continue to serve the aerospace and defense industry. We are grateful to you, to the veterans in our families, and to the veterans in our community for your service.

F-35 podcast Spirit Gives Veteran

Laura Bowling Retires, Celebrating 29 Years Working at Spirit Electronics

Laura Bowling Retires after 29 years with Spirit

Every employer dreams of retaining star employees for their whole career, but we really think it was Laura who decided to keep us. Over time, Spirit has changed, shifted gears, and started to grow exponentially. Being our constant, and the keeper of our history, loyalty, and values, Laura’s hard work and heart for service have given us our team foundation.

Laura started with Spirit Electronics in March 1992. Our business was conducted by phone and over fax machines. When customers ordered parts, POs were sent and received by fax, and then Laura and the team had to track them manually. Customer requirements were fewer, and the DOD had just decided to open up the military supply chain to using commercial off-the-shelf parts with upscreening.

Following the growth and changes of the industry, the Spirit team grew up and down with the ups and downs of the market. Laura and team responded to challenges like counterfeit prevention, cybersecurity implementation, and supply chain delays. Laura saw Spirit through our AS9100 Quality Management certification. In her podcast interview, she says “It’s quality every day, and that’s infused into everyone here at Spirit.” Laura remembers with a laugh how a warehouse employee suddenly moved to Texas, and all the AS9100 preparation materials disappeared with her.

Laura has many stories of our small business challenges. But even though small, Spirit still kept up with industry trends toward automation and improvement. While shifts to customer portals, emails, and automation have streamlined the industry, Laura does miss the personal interaction pre-automation. Laura has represented every one of our prime customer accounts at one point in her career, as well as supporting many other smaller customers.

Laura helped to implement our ERP system, JDE Edwards, to manage ordering and inventory. It was a rocky start with such a massive system, but Laura says she’s been impressed with it. “There was a lot of behind the scenes to get that updated,” says Laura, “but now we’re actually beginning to dive into it more, and I see great things for Spirit because we have JDE.”

The last 4 years have seen major shifts in Spirit’s business. CEO Marti McCurdy acquired the company, and our team has moved to a larger renovated facility, adding test services and contract manufacturing to our long-standing distribution business. “It’s been insane growth,” says Laura, “but good growth.”

Sticking with us for so long, Laura has really set the tone for our team with her hard work and dedication. What’s kept her motivated? “Supporting the troops, and supporting the vision our customers have for new directions,” says Laura. “We support their mission.” Supply chain delays and challenges have made this hard, and often all Laura could do was look for the best solution for her customers. But Laura’s determination has earned Spirit awards for multiple years running from customers like Raytheon and Boeing.

Join us in sending Laura off with well wishes on our LinkedIn page.

Want to work for a company worth 29 years of your career?

Careers Laura Bowling Retirement Team Spirit

Supplier-Managed Inventory (SMI) Offers Protection Against Shortages, Long Lead Times

Aerospace and Defense companies are already starting to see lead times 52 weeks and beyond. While the microchip shortage is front and center in the news, many related components are starting to extend as well. Supplier-Managed Inventory can be a tried-and-true strategy for avoiding allocation shortages.

While the defense industry can sometimes prioritize their components, the risk of delays and shortages won’t be going away soon. Smaller aerospace companies may also feel the pinch of competition with defense primes. The best time to prevent line-down impacts is now, while there is still time to plan.

Supplier-Managed Inventory, or SMI, is not new, but it may be a better strategy now than ever. In our 19 years of experience running SMI programming, it can be very effective. In an SMI program, a distributor like Spirit takes a material requirements plan (MRP) from a customer and manages ordering, inventory, and warehousing of product months in advance of the program’s needs.

For our customers, ordering higher volume and then protecting it on the shelf in the warehouse with space, manpower, and physical controls for risks like ESD can be costly. But letting a supplier manage that inventory instead can relieve cost, logistical effort and quality challenges while making sure product is on-site and ready for the production line.

For our customers, ordering higher volume and then protecting it on the shelf in the warehouse with space, manpower, and physical controls for risks like ESD can be costly. But letting a supplier manage that inventory instead can relieve cost, logistical effort and quality challenges while making sure product is on-site and ready for the production line.

How SMI Works

Setting up an SMI program starts with an MRP analysis. The program can be tailored to meet the customer’s workflows and procurement systems to manage ordering and make sure order requirements are flowed down correctly. The supplier can then manage those requirements and order quantities that support the production schedule long before the needed date. One program can manage just a few components or your full BOM.

When ordering direct, a customer often must manage minimum and multiple quantity requirements from manufacturers. Packaging, screening, and inspection of products can also be costly and require sending parts to multiple suppliers and locations for value-add work.

A supplier-managed program takes that burden off the customer. Quantities can be ordered and shipped as demand requires, and the supplier can manage any remaining stock. Bringing value add services like packaging, XRF analysis, board assembly, and testing in-house can also reduce the need for multiple stops along the supply chain.

Manage & Protect Inventory

SMI program providers experienced with aerospace and defense requirements can also warehouse parts under careful ESD, FOD, and environmental protections that are essential for high-reliability parts. Warehousing provides the same level of protection, control, and transparency as if the parts were at the customer’s facility. SMI can even be customized for on-site consignment programs, allowing customers to have the product at their facility until it is consumed for production.

Supplier-Managed Inventory makes your supply chain more efficient in times of allocation and shortage. By simply analyzing production needs, your SMI program can fill your production pipeline with the right supplier.

Allocation BOM Lead Time logistics SMI Supplier-Managed Inventory

PolyPhaser RF Surge Protection Added to Spirit Line Card

Spirit Electronics is now an authorized reseller for PolyPhaser, an Infinite Electronics brand offering radio frequency surge protection. PolyPhaser products include surge protectors, interconnect cable protection, grounding adapters and hardware, fiber optic protection, and data surge protection for industrial, commercial and military applications.

Similar to its sister brand Transtector, PolyPhaser products offer surge protection to prevent damage to sensitive equipment and systems in the event of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Often EMP is an environmental threat that can cause significant interference and damage. RF equipment like radios and antennas operating in harsh conditions, such as a lightning storm or a solar flare, are vulnerable to power surges and disruptions from EMP.

PolyPhaser RF surge protectors are also tested to MIL-STD-188-125 for High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) protection. HEMP is a particularly damaging EMP resulting from a high-altitude nuclear explosion. Military and emergency management systems can rely on PolyPhaser products to ensure continuity for systems and networks that would be critical during a HEMP event. PolyPhaser RF products have been designed and tested with our military customers in mind. Spirit Electronics is offering PolyPhaser surge protection as part of its comprehensive product offerings in high-reliability performance.

XRF Analysis Adds to Spirit’s Test Services

Spirit has expanded our testing and screening services to include X-ray fluorescence (XRF) testing and analysis.

Spirit’s new Hitachi EA6000VX bench analyzer can inspect the material composition of your product. XRF inspection is essential in military and aerospace supply chains to verify that leads and finishes contain the correct ratio of lead to prevent whiskering.

Results are delivered with the product to our customers in a detailed report showing composition values and detailed images. If your product fails analysis, Spirit can identify the issue and replace your failed lot before the product ever arrives at your dock.

Our XRF machine can also inspect coating thickness and visually map a product and inspect internal connections down to 0.025 microns. Both mapping and composition analysis are inspection tools that can save you time and effort, allowing you to receive your product fully qualified and ready to use in production.

“The cool thing about our Hitachi EA6000VX is that it’s very versatile in the workplace and for exploratory devices,” says Nick Freeman, Spirit’s XRF Test Engineer. “It will tell you how much lead, how much chrome, how much of each element is inside because you want a proper ratio. It tells you what percent it is off from the industry standard, and then it gives you back that information per pin or per solder dot.”

For a limited time with our service launch, customers can receive a sample XRF analysis with a regular electronic component order.

composition leaded screening test XRF

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