Interview with Branko Trajkovski – Founder of Bransys Group

Founded in 2008, Bransys Group is an international solutions provider of next-generation Cloud-based technology that combines PCB assembly prototyping services, hardware design, manufacturing, big data, analytics, and security to help businesses get actionable insights and improve their operations. A noteworthy leader in IoT, the company is driven by the desire to solve complex problemsas efficiently and cost-effectively as possible to help customers stay innovative. We recently spoke with Founder Branko Trajkovski to find out more about Bransys, including its mission, its growth strategy, and thoughts on the future of the industry.

Branko, we understand that you founded the company 15 years ago. Can you tell our readers a little about Bransys Group?

Bransys was first introduced into the marketplace in 2008 in North Macedonia, Europe. Our origin story includes high-profile engineers developing innovative IoT solutions and manufacturing IoT gateways for the automotive industry. Based on the great potential of our initial services, we extended from the European market to the US market in 2015.

At Bransys we focus on prototyping, hardware design, manufacturing, and assembly services. We are building our way up among other reliable European hardware providers. All products are manufactured exclusively within Europe to ensure the highest quality for our international customer base.

Today, our manufacturing plant is divided into two segments: electronics and systems. The electronics segment handles PCB development, manufacturing, and sales, while the system segment focuses on providing technologies that integrate active and passive components into a PCB.

The PCB is one of the most vital components of an electronic product, and it is essential to select the right PCB manufacturer for quality assurance. Because of our experience in developing the best and most complex hardware products over the years, we have extended our manufacturing capacities into PCB assembly processes, ensuring superior quality for our customers. We work with businesses to design and develop the best solutions based on their needs, which they can then pilot and scale.

What industry need did you see that wasn’t being met and that caused you to start the company?

At the beginning, we were exploring a range of industries and needs. But we focused on the industrial assembly and automotive industries due to the lack of custom systems. At the time, there were many basic vehicle tracking hardware providers in the market, but no innovative IoT gateways. So, we decided to design hardware solutions based on customers’ needs and produce scalable products that would allow us toreach new markets and cover more industries.

How has Bransys Group grown/changed over the years? Has your focus remained the same or has it shifted? What is the mission of Bransys Group?

Since the beginning we have been continuously scaling up our portfolio of services and products and developing innovation strategies so we can stay ahead of new technology trends and business needs.

Over the years, not only have we grown our portfolio, but we have also opened four more subsidiaries, two in Europe and two in US, and our team today has grown to 100 engineers and experts in various fields. Our main focus is still the automotive industry, but today the PCB assembly segment also has a significant growth, which leads us to a new potential focus for the upcoming years. Regardless of the direction our portfolio will go, our mission will remain focused on innovation in the name of our clients’ success.

We see that Bransys Group has some subsidiary companies, including Velbit, Bransys US (California and Illinois) and Bransys Serbia. It appears that some of these subsidiaries focus on electronics manufacturing services.What made Bransys branch into this industry?

Our focus on electronics manufacturing services has shifted with the increased need of complementary hardware for our software solutions. Over the years, we have worked with manyhardware providers for GPS tracking units and sensors. But due to the increased need of reliable hardware sets of products, which can keep up with our software solutions, we saw the opportunity to enter this field. Internal production was the first step to validating the assembly capabilities. With the improvement of the manufacturing lines and the investment in new machines to scale up the electronics manufacturing services, we have extended the potential and opened new opportunities for Bransys.

Can you tell us about the electronics manufacturing capabilities Bransys Group provides?

Bransys Group provides comprehensive PCB design and assembly services. Our PCB assembly and battery manufacturing plant was established 2021. We are a one–stop shop for PCB assembly services for prototyping and small to medium series. The PCBs are made in Europe. Our capabilities are based on high–quality standards, competitive prices, customization, and high-reliability application.

In regard to our capabilities, starting from the state-of-the-art stencil printer that puts out close to 10,000 PCBs a day, and the Hanwha high–precision SMT pick–and–place machine that on a bad day can do more than 1,000 PCBs to the newest portfolio addition in the form of the Pillarhouse Jade-MK2 Selective Soldering Machine, we are capable of meeting our customers’ needs. All this is backed up by our dedicated and highly experienced engineering team whose only goal is to deliver the highest quality service and product optimization.

Does IoT play a significant role in Bransys Group and your subsidiary companies? How so?

It sure does. IoT solutions are wide and varied. There are so many challenges we can solve with connecting, monitoring, and analyzing the world around us. It’s extremely important for a company to concentrate on concrete and tested solutions based on customers’ needs. IoT is the leading segment today that helps us develop high-tech and secure solutions, allowing us toposition ourselves as the most reliable partner to our clients.

We read that the company prefers to build partnerships as opposed to customer bases. This is an innovative concept. Can you explain how you accomplish this?

We build partnerships as opposed to customer bases because of our desire to help our partners build a strong, reliable brand identity. We have a private label segment within our manufacturing that is providing final hardware products to our partners under their brand. That way they can provide full services to their clients and scale up their portfolio of products.

Where do you see Bransys in the next five years? Ten?

We have very ambitious plans for the future. The next phase for us is to use AI power in our platforms and processes. This means that we will remain focused on innovation in the name of our clients’ success. There are numerous opportunities all around us to implement new solutions that can improve many industries, not just in the automotive field. That is why we will stay focused on developing innovative solutions and building our way as the most reliable PCB manufacturer.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about Bransys and the positive impact your company has had on our industry?

Our constant focus on improvement, not only within the manufacturing processes, but as well as the impact of our clients stems from our dedication to sustainability and decarbonization. During the last year, we have switched more than 70% of our manufacturing electricity needs to come from green energy. The biggest impact our PV plant will have is not only for the client but also the environment, ensuring that all the products are done with care and respect for nature.