Deals change the game only when they change what you can do for customers. That's the heartbeat of our conversation as we break down InCap’s planned acquisition of Lacon Group, a Germany-based EMS and ODM player with sites across Bavaria, northern Germany, and Romania. In this conversation with InCap CEO Otto Pukk, I dive into why Germany’s the cornerstone of European EMS, how local engineering talent shifts the work from build-to-print toward design collaboration, and why this move is about smarter capacity—geography, capability, and resilience—more than raw scale.
We map the value Lacon adds: roughly €70 million in revenue, a balanced sector mix across defense, rail, industrial, and medical, and ODM-grade design services that tighten DFM, accelerate NPI, and strengthen lifecycle support. Then we connect the dots to InCap’s existing strengths in Europe, USA and India, showing how small and mid-volume German programs can ramp efficiently across a broader network without sacrificing proximity or quality. The result is a more versatile platform for customers who want speed, engineering depth, and flexible capacity in an uncertain market.
Consolidation across European EMS is heating up, with aggressive moves from regional leaders and higher multiples for high-quality assets. We unpack what’s driving the surge—defense and aerospace demand, AI and data center hardware—and why portfolio balance still matters when geopolitics can shake forecasts. Culture fit plays a starring role here; with multi-site teams and over 600 new colleagues to integrate, shared values and a strong group spirit make the difference between a deal that looks good on paper and one that delivers in practice.
We close with a grounded outlook: stronger Q4 than Q3, cautious optimism for 2026, and a clear focus on integration and operational excellence—harmonizing processes, unlocking cross-site synergies, and standardizing engineering workflows. If you’re tracking the future of EMS, from German proximity to India-based scale, from ODM capability to defense readiness, this is a deep, candid look at how strategy meets execution. Subscribe, share with a colleague who follows EMS M&A, and leave a review with your take on where the next strategic foothold should be.

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.