Silicon Valley’s Best Kept Secret

Naprotek
Written by Jessica Ferlaino

Founded in 1995 by owner and CEO Najat Badriyeh, Naprotek Inc. is celebrating twenty one years in the industry as a highly reputable, full-service electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider. Industry leader Naprotek has the capacities to support any project from the introduction of a new product through to the end of its lifecycle. It specializes in mission critical solutions and cutting edge technology.
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Located in Silicon Valley, Naprotek is one of the area’s best kept secrets, offering prototype services with low to medium volume production manufacturing capacities.

“We started out doing nothing but new product production, and a lot of people only knew us as a prototype house,” Liz Davidson, vice president of sales, said. “But, today, we are really much more than that, and that’s the piece that we feel has been kept secret.”

Naprotek boasts the highest levels of customer service support from engineering to manufacturing, and flawless manufacturing abilities from quick-turn prototypes through low to medium volume runs of printed circuit board assemblies, box builds (mechanical assembly into a chassis) and test. The company provides a complete product build solution.

Naprotek has grown from Badriyeh’s extensive knowledge and expertise in the electronics industry to become one of the top five hundred Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB). The company name developed from ‘Najat’s Proto Technology’ and started with just one person before expanding quickly with demand. Naprotek has grown to a team of sixty people, all of whom bring extensive knowledge and experience.

“There are sixteen of us who have been with the company over eighteen years, and there are twenty-two people who have been with the company fifteen or more years,” Davidson said. The level of employee retention that is found across Naprotek’s operations is attributable to the environment that has been cultivated by Najat and her management team.

“In our industry, it is not common for people to stay with one company for long periods of time. There tends to be a lot of movement around from [contract manufacturer] to [contract manufacturer],” she continued. “It’s unique that we have a workforce that has been intact for so long.”

Naprotek provides a fair and positive work culture, engaging employees in the company’s many exciting ongoing developments and opportunities. While embracing innovation and participating in new product development, the team at Naprotek is fully committed to creating products that surpass clients’ expectations.

Badriyeh has made every effort to reinvest in Naprotek, ensuring that employees are trained, certified and equipped with the right tools and technology to guarantee project success. QA personnel, operators, and program managers are IPC trained and certified (IPC is the worldwide trade association of the electronics assembly and printed circuit board industries.) which is an advantage in the market. The company boasts an IPC certified trainer and IPC certified specialists in-house (IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, and J-STD-001).

The company offers services to clients representing the military/aerospace, energy, satellite, semiconductor manufacturing, medical, industrial, networks, research and development and consumer products sectors. It continues to build its clientele by honoring commitments and developing trust-based relationships. Referrals and new business are a natural result.

Many of Naprotek’s clients, including military/aerospace and medical, operate in accordance with stringent regulations and time-critical schedules. Naprotek’s quality workmanship, adaptability and commitment to project success mean client satisfaction.

“We have a lot of pride in what we do. The most important thing for us is our reputation and fulfilling the needs of our customers because, without them, we have nothing,” Davidson explained.

Owner and CEO Najat Badriyeh added, “It is important for the customer to trust who they are dealing with. So, when we provide a customer with a schedule, we are going to meet that schedule, no matter what. When they come to us, they know that if we say we are going to deliver on that day, that we will deliver on that day.”

Davidson cited the example of Naprotek’s work with Lockheed Martin on the GOES-R Satellite project, noting the complexity and challenging deadline associated with this project. Naprotek was able to have the proof of design vetted within project timelines and received a customer appreciation award for its efforts in the project’s success.

To better accommodate the needs of its growing client base, Naprotek moved into a new facility in January 2015. This location will allow for substantial growth and expansion. The site is equipped with the state of the art equipment necessary to completely support its client needs and projected growth.

“As the company has grown, as the infrastructure has become stronger and as the equipment has been made available to us, we are able to serve more customers in a larger capacity.” Davidson explained the importance of reinvestment at Naprotek and the company’s commitment to supporting both its clients and its growth by participating in newly available processes and technologies.

The atmosphere fostered at Naprotek helps to ensure crisp execution of project goals and mitigating and overcoming challenges. In addition to being recognized for quality and service, Naprotek is regularly acknowledged by clients and site visitors for the cleanliness of the facilities and the organization of operations, a key differentiator in the industry.

A client testimonial received from Northrop Grumman Xetron praises the accommodating and adaptable nature of Naprotek’s service and support: “Naprotek provided a level of professionalism and responsiveness to us that I have never seen before.”

The company has created strategic engineering alliances that seamlessly support clients from concept to circuit board development. All printed circuit board layout and mechanical design issues are dealt with in a streamlined process to save clients time and money, and it provides expert advice on design factors that affect manufacturing, testability, repair ease, component selection and costs.

Naprotek is equipped to design for radio frequency, digital, analog and mixed-signal applications via a variety of layout tools. It then uses an automated verification system to validate products, and both products and processes are certified to a number of quality management regulatory bodies (ISO 9001:2008, ISO 13485 and AS9100).

It also participates in the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP). As needed, Naprotek is able to provide component traceability down to the date and lot code level. The company procures only the highest quality, competitively priced materials to give clients a great value and products with a long life.

In 2013, Naprotek was the overall winner of Circuits Assembly Magazine’s service excellence award, beating other companies of a similar size and scope throughout the US. The award takes into consideration factors including quality, on-time delivery, capability, technology and value for price.

Ranking higher than all of its peers, as scored by customer surveys, Naprotek is being considered once again for 2016. It is expected to be a front-runner for this year’s award once again, with the results to be announced on March 15, 2016.

Moving forward, Naprotek is projecting continued growth and success and is poised to accept any influx of demand. “Looking at the next five years,” shared Badriyeh, “I would like to double the size of the company revenue and I know it can be done.

“Those who know Naprotek, they know exactly who we are and the value and service that we provide.” Badriyeh said. By building on this reputation for proven quality output and exceptional customer service and support, Naprotek is focused on new business development, finding new ways to bring products, expertise, and support to a growing list of clients in the many industries it serves.

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