He highlighted the challenges of the production shift, noting Leoni’s effort to duplicate the programs in Ukraine, but admitting the custom nature of wire harnesses makes the process difficult.
“We are expanding footprints, hiring people, and buying equipment to expand these programs, but for the more complex programs, we are still in that duplication process,” he said.
“We also want to honor all the work the Ukrainians have put in and the risks they have been willing to take. At the same time, we have to have this safety net—that is why this duplication effort is so important.”
He said the crisis has brought with it the realization that standardization will allow for better crisis management in the future.
“I think we will see more software variety and less hardware variety, so you have a product you can more easily shift between facilities,” he said. “It will be a new world where harnesses are more standardized. The more we can automate, the closer we can be to our customers.”