Zollner Electronics Celebrates Grand Opening in Milpitas

Zollner Elektronik AG, a global Electronic Manufacturing and Engineering Services (EMS) company, and its U.S. division Zollner Electronics Inc. held a grand opening celebration for its new Milpitas facility last week.

The event was well attended by current and prospective customers, officials from the state of California and City of Milpitas, executives from Zollner’s headquarters in Germany, Zollner’s U.S. employees and suppliers, and members of the media.

Tours of the newly-constructed facility and its state-of-the-art equipment and demonstrations of the various products and technologies Zollner offers were conducted throughout the afternoon and evening.

Manfred Zollner Sr. delivered the opening speech to the large crowd.

“It seems like a miracle - 46 years ago, at the age of 25, I set out to start my own company, far away in the small, rural village of Zandt, Germany,” he reflected. “Today, I am very proud of our accomplishments, with over 7,800 employees; global locations throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa, and now America; and ranked in the world’s Top 15 EMS providers."

Followed by Zollner Sr. was Joel Ayala with the State of California, welcoming Zollner Electronics to Silicon Valley and offering the state's continuing support with the new initiative.

Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves officially greeted the arrival of Zollner Electronics to Milpitas and said he was pleased about the new jobs created and the planned growth for 2012. In appreciation, Esteves presented Zollner Sr. with the key to the City of Milpitas.

One highlight of the event was the unveiling of a video presentation detailing the design, development and manufacture of the world’s largest, free-standing robotic dragon, known as “Tradinno.” The name Tradinno was derived from the merging of words "tradition" and "innovation." Tradinno has been called "an incredibly impressive feat of engineering and an outstanding example of Zollner’s technical depth, design capabilities, and manufacturing expertise."

At the conclusion of the video, everyone was treated to a formal, Bavarian-style dinner.

Zollner’s Milpitas manufacturing and NPI center is designed to better serve the company's customers throughout North America and support Zollner’s European and Asian production facilities.