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Aspocomp has elevated quality management to the executive level as demand for advanced printed circuit boards continues to outpace European manufacturing capacity.
Former Acon Chief Operating Officer Ilkka Lohi joins Aspocomp as quality director on Sept. 2, 2026, becoming the first executive to hold a dedicated quality role on the printed circuit board manufacturer's management team.
Lohi will report to President and CEO Manu Skyttä and become the seventh member of Aspocomp's management team, according to the Finnish PCB maker’s recent press release. The role does not replace an outgoing executive but adds quality management to the leadership level for the first time.
"As Aspocomp's strategy and our ongoing investment program progress, quality plays an increasingly central role," Skyttä said, adding that the company expects the new role to improve production quality, throughput, and profitability. "This is a strategically important new role for us that helps us systematically manage production quality and promote the company's quality culture.
Two decades of quality leadership
Lohi brings more than 20 years of quality-management experience across electronics and industrial manufacturing. At Finnish trampoline manufacturer Acon, he most recently served as chief operating officer after previously serving as CEO and leading supply chain and quality. Earlier in his career, he held quality leadership roles at Innohome, a provider of smart fire safety products, and Tongyu Technology Oy, a telecommunication component manufacturer.
Aspocomp, a Finnish manufacturer of high-end printed circuit boards used in semiconductor testing equipment, defense systems, telecommunications, and industrial electronics, is elevating quality as it builds on its financial turnaround.
Net sales increased almost 40% to EUR 38.2 million in 2025, while the company returned to an operating profit of EUR 0.9 million after two years of losses. It is now investing more than EUR 10 million to modernize its only manufacturing plant, in Oulu, Finland, where it produces advanced high-density interconnection and high-layer-count circuit boards, to improve production quality and increase capacity by up to 50% by 2027.
What Aspocomp is trying to accomplish
The appointment supports Aspocomp's strategy to capitalize on rising European demand for high-complexity PCBs driven by defense spending and AI-related semiconductor investment.
In an interview with Listeds in April, Skyttä said Europe is entering a period where PCB demand is increasing even as regional manufacturing capacity continues to decline, creating an opportunity for suppliers of advanced boards. Aspocomp's Oulu plant has been running at full capacity since early 2025, with customers increasingly seeking to secure future production capacity. Alongside the Oulu investment, the company is shifting sourcing away from China toward European and Southeast Asian partners while focusing on high-value, complex PCBs.
Based on the Q1 guidance, management expects higher net sales and an improved operating result in 2026 as it expands capacity and strengthens quality and delivery reliability.
Investor watchpoints
Throughput and profitability. Management has said demand is no longer the primary constraint. Investors should watch whether quality improvements help convert Aspocomp's record EUR 23.5 million order book into deliveries while rebuilding operating margins.
Quality improvements. The new quality director gives executive ownership to one of the company's identified operational risks. Future results should show whether lower defect rates and improved delivery reliability translate into stronger profitability.
Investment program. The more than EUR 10 million modernization of the Oulu plant is central to Aspocomp's growth strategy. Investors should monitor capital spending, cash flow and balance-sheet strength as new capacity is phased in through 2027, alongside progress toward the company's 2026 guidance for higher net sales and an improved operating result.
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