NOTE Inaugurates New EMS Plant in Torsby, Sweden to Double Defense Electronics Capacity

NOTE Doubles Production Area with New Swedish Facility

Swedish electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider NOTE has inaugurated a new production plant in Torsby, Sweden, designed to double the site’s manufacturing capacity for defense and medical technology electronics. The facility opened on June 2, 2026.

“The new plant in Torsby, Sweden, is a clear example of how NOTE is investing for the long term to meet our customers’ increasing demands for delivery reliability, capacity, technical excellence and local production,” said Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO of NOTE, during the inauguration ceremony.

The expansion reflects a broader European trend toward reshoring critical electronics manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions and supply chain fragmentation. NOTE’s investment specifically targets defense-grade electronics, where local production requirements and security clearances make overseas manufacturing impractical.

LEAN-Based Design with High Automation

The new Torsby plant is built according to NOTE’s proprietary LEAN manufacturing concept with significant automation investment. According to the company, it enables larger and more technically advanced production assignments while improving quality metrics and operational efficiency.

Karin Nichols, CEO and site manager of the Torsby operation, emphasized the facility’s focus on demanding environments: “The Torsby factory has extensive experience of electronics for demanding environments, which is central to defence and medical technology.”

Key capabilities of the expanded facility include:

• Doubled production floor area for SMT assembly lines
• Advanced inspection systems including AOI and X-ray for high-reliability builds
• Cleanroom-adjacent production for medical electronics
• ITAR-equivalent security for defense program compliance
• Full box-build capability from bare PCB assembly to system integration

European EMS Reshoring Accelerates

NOTE’s expansion aligns with a wave of European electronics reshoring driven by multiple factors:

Geopolitical security: NATO and EU member states increasingly require domestic production of defense electronics. Supply chain dependencies on Asia-Pacific manufacturing are being actively reduced for military applications.

Supply chain resilience: The semiconductor shortages of 2021-2023 and ongoing logistics challenges have convinced European OEMs to secure local manufacturing partners, even at higher per-unit costs.

Regulatory compliance: European defense procurement rules increasingly mandate local content percentages and security-cleared facilities for sensitive electronics.

NOTE operates multiple facilities across Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and the UK, providing a distributed European manufacturing footprint that reduces single-point-of-failure risk for customers.

What This Means for PCB Procurement

The expansion of European EMS capacity creates demand for PCBs that meet military and medical standards — specifically IPC Class 3 boards with full traceability, controlled impedance, and materials meeting UL94 V-0 and MIL-PRF-31032 specifications.

For hardware companies designing defense or medical products, the trend toward local manufacturing means shorter lead times for assembly but requires PCB suppliers who can deliver Class 3 quality with documentation packages meeting European defense procurement standards.

At AtlasPCB, we supply high-reliability PCBs to defense and medical OEMs globally, with full material traceability, IPC-6012 Class 3 certification, and documentation packages compatible with European and US defense procurement requirements. Our 10-15 day lead times for multilayer boards complement fast-turnaround EMS programs like those at NOTE’s expanded facility.

Source: PCB Directory, June 2, 2026

Image: ThisisEngineering via Unsplash

Need defense-grade PCBs with Class 3 quality? AtlasPCB manufactures high-reliability boards meeting IPC-6012 Class 3 and MIL-PRF-31032 requirements with full lot traceability. Get capabilities overview →

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