ESAM faq

Following are ESAM's most Frequently Asked Questions. If you need additional assistance, call (541) 476-9162 or email us.

QUESTION: How long has ESAM been in business?
ANSWER: ESAM was founded in 1974.

QUESTION: How convenient is ESAM's location for doing business?
ANSWER: ESAM is located in Southern Oregon just off Interstate 5 (I-5), the major north/south artery for the west coast. The factory is located just 30 minutes from the Medford JACKSON County Airport (MFR), with four major airlines offering many non-stop flights to major west coast cities including, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Denver.

QUESTION: Do you have a stable workforce?
ANSWER: First, we are located in a very desirable "employee friendly" area with many activities available. This and the fact that Litton Industries operated here for over 20 years before closing, gives us a good base of technically qualified employees to choose from. These factors contribute to our ability to maintain a stable workforce.

QUESTION: How do you train your staff?
ANSWER: All employees are required to complete in-house training. All manufacturing employees are certified to IPC/WHMA-620A workmanship standards for specific jobs, and are re-certified annually.

QUESTION: What markets does ESAM sell to?
ANSWER: We started in 1974 selling to the instrumentation and medical equipment markets. We became entrenched in the gaming equipment market in the mid 80's, and the capital equipment and telecommunications markets in the 90's. We entered the Aerospace & Defense market after we received our HUB Zone certification in 2004. We continue to support these markets by supplying cable and wire harnessing, electro-mechanical and pneumatic assemblies, and engineering services.

QUESTION: What kind of and how many customers does ESAM have and where are they located
ANSWER: We have customers in each market who are leaders in their fields. We serve more than 80 customers, predominantly located in the western half of the United States. However, we ship products to the east coast, Asia, and Europe.

QUESTION: How do you reach customers?
ANSWER: We have direct sales people calling on customers at their sites. We couple this with a dedicated customer service person and engineering staff to provide our customers with easy and reliable communications with us.

QUESTION: What quality systems do you have in place?
ANSWER: ESAM has been ISO-9001:2000 certified since 2002. We are UL and CSA approved. We adhere to IPC/WHMA-A-620 standards. Numerous metrics are used by ESAM to track not only quality but other aspects of business important to our customers. In addition to numerous and strategic in process inspections,100% of the cables, harnesses and box builds we ship are tested before they are shipped.

QUESTION: Are you RoHS compliant?
ANSWER: Yes, our manufacturing processes conform to RoHS requirements.

QUESTION: Can ESAM help us keep costs down or reduce costs?
ANSWER: Yes. Our materials and purchasing staff work continuously to leverage your material volumes along with others of the same type to obtain volume discounts you would not be able to achieve alone. We work from your Approved Vendor List where required, or we can assist you in finding alternative sources that may reduce cost at no sacrifice to quality or delivery. Our engineers can also work with your manufacturing and engineering departments to make suggestions for product cost reduction, assist during upgrading and/or product revisions.

QUESTION: We experience unexpected "drop in" orders and schedule changes for our customers. How can you help with that?
ANSWER: We handle "pull ins" and "push outs" for many of our customers. We have an assortment of inventory programs we can offer based on your history with your customers. We'll advise you on the most cost effective way to build lot sizes and when to ship to meet your production schedules. We're very flexible. Ask your ESAM sales contact to tell you more about this.

QUESTION: We've experienced many pitfalls when we have tried to use offshore suppliers. How can you help with this?
ANSWER: When our customer's volumes and cost pressures reach the point that offshore production is required, ESAM can provide you with a seamless solution. Your business transaction costs and communication conveniences stay the same, just as if the product was being built at our Grants Pass factory. Ask your ESAM sales person to tell you more about our process and our "insurance policy" for this.