WEBVTT - Disruptive Software Platform for Electric Machines

0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.960
<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim

0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:06.280
<v Speaker 1>Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.

0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:08.680
<v Speaker 2>All right, well, we talked a lot about this during

0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:11.559
<v Speaker 2>the pandemic, of course, the supply chain crunch all the

0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.320
<v Speaker 2>things that have chips in them, and we saw that,

0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.599
<v Speaker 2>like have some really serious situations because the supply chain

0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:20.120
<v Speaker 2>when it comes to chips just wasn't happening at least

0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.080
<v Speaker 2>wasn't certainly keeping up with demand. So everything like cars,

0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.760
<v Speaker 2>washing machines, refrigerators, we don't think about it, but everything

0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:28.560
<v Speaker 2>folks you know, has got chips in it.

0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:30.320
<v Speaker 3>Well, it turns out the same thing goes for motors.

0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:32.480
<v Speaker 3>They're not just in the stuff of like electric cars

0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:39.280
<v Speaker 3>and elevators. We got medical devices, renewable energy, robotics, automation, transportation,

0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:43.000
<v Speaker 3>consumer electronics, HVAC systems, Carol, like heaters and air conditioners,

0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.760
<v Speaker 3>those all have motors. Yeah, So motors are everywhere.

0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:47.279
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they are.

0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.559
<v Speaker 2>So we've got with us Brian Casey, the CEO of

0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:54.600
<v Speaker 2>ECMPCB stater Tech. It's a company that designed specialty electric

0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:57.920
<v Speaker 2>motors and the software that makes them, and really delighted

0:00:57.920 --> 0:00:59.480
<v Speaker 2>to have with us Brian. He's joining us on Zoom

0:00:59.480 --> 0:00:59.920
<v Speaker 2>from Massage.

0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:00.600
<v Speaker 1>It's Brian.

0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.360
<v Speaker 2>Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. First of all, give us a little

0:01:03.400 --> 0:01:05.800
<v Speaker 2>bit more of an idea. Specifically, we're talking about these

0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:08.920
<v Speaker 2>motors as software, but we hear motors and we think

0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:09.319
<v Speaker 2>one thing.

0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.080
<v Speaker 1>But tell us exactly what you guys are up to.

0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.280
<v Speaker 4>I'll think first off, Carroll Tion, thank you so much

0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.120
<v Speaker 4>for having me on. And I think it was only

0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.360
<v Speaker 4>fitting that I come in after Yaba Daba Doo time.

0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:19.880
<v Speaker 1>So you're welcome.

0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:25.200
<v Speaker 4>Even the Scooby Doo Show uses motors. So you know

0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:30.120
<v Speaker 4>ECM's offering is we're taking software and allowing people to

0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.800
<v Speaker 4>design their own motors. And that's everyone from large enterprises

0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.160
<v Speaker 4>that are fully integrating, so they can, as you guys

0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.000
<v Speaker 4>opened up, get rid of the supply chain kind of

0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:44.880
<v Speaker 4>issues and concerns that they had during the pandemic. So

0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.880
<v Speaker 4>it really creates a unique opportunity to have all these

0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.520
<v Speaker 4>motors printed basically through our software.

0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:55.440
<v Speaker 3>Bill I want to talk about that development process. I mean,

0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:57.240
<v Speaker 3>forgive me, I don't know a ton about the motor

0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:01.200
<v Speaker 3>development process, but I do understand that you at CEES

0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.280
<v Speaker 3>unveiled some new software that's really going to change the

0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:06.960
<v Speaker 3>way at least according to you, that electric motors are

0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:10.040
<v Speaker 3>developed and manufactured. So talk to me about the problem

0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.640
<v Speaker 3>that you've solved here, the problem that you're trying to solve,

0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.440
<v Speaker 3>what needed to be fixed in the manufacturing and development process.

0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.480
<v Speaker 4>Well, I think what you need to be fixed is

0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:23.240
<v Speaker 4>kind of is more of like an a macro kind

0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:26.080
<v Speaker 4>of evolution where there really hasn't been anything kind of

0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.760
<v Speaker 4>unique or new in the motor motor world. And as

0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.480
<v Speaker 4>we move towards as you opened up with tim like

0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:38.200
<v Speaker 4>sustainability electrification, that requires a more exacting and a more

0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:43.240
<v Speaker 4>nimble type of offering, and through software, we're able to

0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:49.360
<v Speaker 4>leverage printed circuit board manufacturing and create very exact motor

0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:55.200
<v Speaker 4>specifications and motors for end use applications, which allows innovators

0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.680
<v Speaker 4>and engineers to kind of solve problems very rapidly.

0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:00.280
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's interesting, and you guys, you should with

0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:03.560
<v Speaker 2>our producers some research. But the need and there's a

0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.079
<v Speaker 2>line in some of the background material that you sent

0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.760
<v Speaker 2>the need for specialized electric motors as an overlook technology trend.

0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.560
<v Speaker 2>The world was required or will require billions of specialized

0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:17.280
<v Speaker 2>motors annually in every vertical imaginable and a sector valued

0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:20.000
<v Speaker 2>it over two hundred billion dollars a year, So money

0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.640
<v Speaker 2>talks in our investing audience. One of the things we

0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:25.080
<v Speaker 2>always like when we have a guest on is like,

0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.800
<v Speaker 2>tell us why they should care about what you are doing.

0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:29.840
<v Speaker 2>What is it that they need to know and understand.

0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:34.079
<v Speaker 4>I think that it's the disruption that's going to occur,

0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:39.600
<v Speaker 4>you know, I think big motor OEMs and traditional there's

0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:41.680
<v Speaker 4>always going to be a place for traditional motors there

0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:43.640
<v Speaker 4>where you order through a catalog or you order through

0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:48.040
<v Speaker 4>a specification. But when you have you know the emergence

0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.760
<v Speaker 4>of the Internet, the emergence of new kind of fast

0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.280
<v Speaker 4>speed chips and people innovating very quickly, they need that

0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:57.480
<v Speaker 4>response time and in order to fulfill that, that's where

0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:01.160
<v Speaker 4>that's where ECM comes into play. And the analogy would be.

0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.880
<v Speaker 4>And you know in the music industry, you know, when

0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.000
<v Speaker 4>the Beatles and the Stones were recording, they were using

0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.360
<v Speaker 4>eight tracks and sixteen track recording. And now you have

0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.320
<v Speaker 4>music artists that are doing everything on their laptop right

0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:15.000
<v Speaker 4>and they're all doing that through software. And that's really

0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:18.240
<v Speaker 4>kind of that turned that industry upside down. And even

0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.720
<v Speaker 4>at ces that opened up our eyes. I mean Our

0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:24.200
<v Speaker 4>booth was just jam packed for four days straight and

0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:26.600
<v Speaker 4>we had everyone from large you know, Fortune one hundred

0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.240
<v Speaker 4>companies that were there kind of kicking the tires to

0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.280
<v Speaker 4>what I would call one off like you know, consultants

0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:36.800
<v Speaker 4>and engineers that are looking for new ways to get

0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.440
<v Speaker 4>their robotics, their robotics, you know, startups off the ground,

0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.760
<v Speaker 4>and their medical device companies off the ground. So ECM's

0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:46.160
<v Speaker 4>PCB state or tech enables that. So it's a it's

0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:49.400
<v Speaker 4>a powerful kind of disruptive tool that I think is

0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.120
<v Speaker 4>going to really kind of turn things upside down.

0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.960
<v Speaker 3>And is the tool software, yes.

0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:59.760
<v Speaker 4>Sir, yeah, So, so the software allows users to do

0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.640
<v Speaker 4>zach specifications for what they want for a physical motor,

0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.760
<v Speaker 4>and then the end of the product of the software

0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.440
<v Speaker 4>creates what they call a gerber file, and that file

0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:11.440
<v Speaker 4>gets sent to NDI print circuit board house in the

0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:16.600
<v Speaker 4>world and we're able to print these staters and then

0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:20.920
<v Speaker 4>these staters go into mechanical systems that become as a

0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.720
<v Speaker 4>traditional kind of motor that you'd see here. And what's

0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:28.640
<v Speaker 4>great about that, the ubiquitousness of the software is that

0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.359
<v Speaker 4>you can print these staters anywhere in the world. So

0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.840
<v Speaker 4>if you have a production facility in Chicago. You can

0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:36.719
<v Speaker 4>print them right there.

0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.120
<v Speaker 2>It's so interesting, right because we talk so much about chips, right,

0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.680
<v Speaker 2>we say chips are in everything, But if it's some

0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:46.280
<v Speaker 2>kind of mechanical device, whether it's a robot or something else, like,

0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:47.960
<v Speaker 2>you're going to need some type of motor and that's

0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.760
<v Speaker 2>where you guys come in, right. It's kind OF's got

0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:53.400
<v Speaker 2>to be that connective tissue, if you will, And that's

0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:54.120
<v Speaker 2>what you guys.

0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:54.400
<v Speaker 1>Are up to.

0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:58.240
<v Speaker 4>Absolutely, it's spot on, Carol, Like, well, we have a

0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:06.240
<v Speaker 4>Scandinavian company that makes robotic applications for exoskeletons, and you know,

0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:09.560
<v Speaker 4>from thought to finish, you know, was you know, eight

0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:11.720
<v Speaker 4>weeks and they had a they were able to put

0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.920
<v Speaker 4>a prototype motor on on on one of their devices

0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:19.440
<v Speaker 4>and actually had an actual patient using it, right, you know,

0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:21.840
<v Speaker 4>within within eight weeks. And then they were able to

0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:23.440
<v Speaker 4>model that and say, hey, this is we want we

0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.480
<v Speaker 4>want to have a little bit more more torque here.

0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.400
<v Speaker 4>We want to have a little more power and that

0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.919
<v Speaker 4>direct kind of instant feedback. You can only do that

0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.920
<v Speaker 4>with what I would call dynamic modeling proof software.

0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:36.280
<v Speaker 1>Well, I connected the dots. My dad was an engineer.

0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:37.720
<v Speaker 2>We talked a lot about how things worked, and you

0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.640
<v Speaker 2>took up apart a lot of things at home while

0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:41.040
<v Speaker 2>we were growing up, So not.

0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.120
<v Speaker 3>Gonna lie, Brian. It also helped when you held up

0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.120
<v Speaker 3>the you know, the props.

0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:46.400
<v Speaker 1>Our whole control room was.

0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:49.880
<v Speaker 3>Like, oh, so if you're watching us on YouTube, there's

0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:52.240
<v Speaker 3>some great images right now that you can see of

0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:54.320
<v Speaker 3>what exactly Brian Casey is talking about.

0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:56.479
<v Speaker 1>I do want to ask you who are your biggest customers.

0:06:56.480 --> 0:07:00.640
<v Speaker 4>Give me an idea, so you know a little bit

0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:02.799
<v Speaker 4>of like kind of we're kind of protected with some NDAs.

0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.120
<v Speaker 4>Everyone wants to keep this great secret to themselves where

0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:06.919
<v Speaker 4>they kind of get out in front of it. But

0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:13.800
<v Speaker 4>very large HVAC companies, some robotics companies, medical device companies,

0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:19.600
<v Speaker 4>what I would call electronics manufacturing companies. We have a

0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:24.480
<v Speaker 4>partnership with Celestica. They were early adopters and a very

0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:28.360
<v Speaker 4>innovative company. They've been able to really kind of exploit

0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:32.880
<v Speaker 4>the technology for their customers and clients and everything. You know,

0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:35.760
<v Speaker 4>also what I would call haptics, so people that are

0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.200
<v Speaker 4>doing you know, cinematography and gaming.

0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:40.880
<v Speaker 1>So it's like it all over the place.

0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.960
<v Speaker 2>You guys are private right, I've got that right, Yeah, okay,

0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:47.360
<v Speaker 2>I thought we had to checked and stuff. So obviously,

0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.440
<v Speaker 2>so your numbers and everything are private, but give us

0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.120
<v Speaker 2>an idea just so that we understand the business. What

0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.600
<v Speaker 2>kind of growth you're anticipating over the next twelve months,

0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:57.280
<v Speaker 2>so what it tells us about the business, and then

0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:58.960
<v Speaker 2>what it tells us about the business environment.

0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:03.400
<v Speaker 4>Great question, Carol. So you know, back in twenty eighteen

0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.960
<v Speaker 4>twenty nineteen, it was just it was really still in

0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.080
<v Speaker 4>the lab and the thought process, and we're still building

0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.640
<v Speaker 4>the code, and revenue is doubled or maybe more than

0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:16.240
<v Speaker 4>doubled year after year since that. We're expecting another kind

0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:20.200
<v Speaker 4>of what I would call exponential growth this year, but

0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.280
<v Speaker 4>looking at the turnout that we had at CEES, it

0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:25.720
<v Speaker 4>could be even larger than that. And some of the

0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.760
<v Speaker 4>adoption is where the revenue is created. So if we

0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:30.920
<v Speaker 4>have a large, let's say Fortune one hundred company that

0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.920
<v Speaker 4>wants to vertically integrate and they're using the software and

0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.520
<v Speaker 4>they're creating their own designs and they're building their own motors,

0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.600
<v Speaker 4>well sometimes it takes a while for that to be digested.

0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:45.560
<v Speaker 4>So yeah, we have pretty good predictable future revenues going forward,

0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:46.680
<v Speaker 4>and it's just fun to.

0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.240
<v Speaker 2>Just ten seconds fifteen seconds left. What would you describe

0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.080
<v Speaker 2>the economic environment right now? Our business environment just quickly

0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:53.280
<v Speaker 2>based on what you are seeing.

0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.000
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, you know what, we're pretty optimistic. We feel like

0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.000
<v Speaker 4>things are what I would call is kind of quieted down.

0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.520
<v Speaker 4>Interest rates have improved a little bit, so, but as

0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:07.920
<v Speaker 4>far as like capital investing in tech, we're we're really

0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.480
<v Speaker 4>busy and you know we've been We've been very fortunate.

0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:15.400
<v Speaker 4>People aren't holding back, they're releasing their capital budgets to

0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.520
<v Speaker 4>try projects with us. So we're pretty bullish for the next, uh,

0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.000
<v Speaker 4>you know, foreseeable future.

0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:22.959
<v Speaker 2>Really fun to talk with you, and I love somebody

0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.480
<v Speaker 2>who gets a Flintstone's reference and also has a prop So, Brian,

0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:27.720
<v Speaker 2>thank you so much being about Brian Casey their CEO

0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:29.959
<v Speaker 2>of e C m PCB stater a