For an OEM product, launch day is the easy part. The hard part is every unit, and every production run, for the years that follow — through component changes, standard revisions and re-certification. What follows is a real case.
Download the one-page PDF (no form) →The situation
In 1990, a global distributor needed a temperature control it could sell in the US — and keep selling for decades. The hard part was never the prototype. It was every unit and every run after it.
The five decisions, one per stage of the work
Plan for the whole life, not the launch Plan & Define
You feel it as: the spec covered launch day, not year 25.
KELD: US certification and 30-year supply were in the plan from 1990 — not added later.
Give the board two test layers Product Design
You feel it as: unit 1 works; unit 5,000 behaves differently and you cannot see why.
KELD: two test layers from day one — one common, one to check it under real load.
The advantage is in process, not a cheap line Process Design
You feel it as: the design was fine; the line was not, and the first batch showed it.
KELD: the strength is in process and layout — easy to build, easy to test, same result every unit.
Test under real loads before the first batch Validation
You feel it as: the test lab found the problem too late, after the line was running.
KELD: validation ran under real operating loads, so risks were visible before production — not after.
Manage the product for 30 years, not one launch Production & Life
You feel it as: a part is no longer made, or a standard changes — and you cannot ship.
KELD: when a part or a standard changed, it was managed before it could stop supply.
The result
None of this was luck. The 5 decisions are one method: Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP). KELD uses it from the first idea and keeps the product alive for its whole life — for OEM electronics that must work for years, not just at launch.
An electronics design and manufacturing partner for OEMs
KELD is an electronics design and manufacturing partner for OEMs in HVAC, ventilation, motors, pumps and refrigeration. We apply APQP from the first idea and support the product across its whole life — so it keeps shipping through component changes and standard revisions. See how we work with OEM teams.
Built for the whole life of the product.
For OEM electronics that must work for years, not just at launch. Tell us what your product has to keep doing, and for how long.
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