SYDNEY – Australian PCB manufacturer Circuitwise Electronics Manufacturing has announced the acquisition of New Zealand-based electronics design and manufacturing specialist Nautech Electronics.

The acquisition of Nautech extends Circuitwise’s offerings with the addition of advanced testing facilities and a team of production engineers and electronics designers, Circuitwise said in a release, and its own offerings also complement Nautech's, with an in-house enterprise manufacturing system that is supported by custom hardware solutions.

The company said geographical presence was a key consideration in the deal, with local manufacturing becoming increasingly important for companies in both nations looking for better delivery speed and reliability, enhanced communication and responsiveness, collaboration and support for testing and design for manufacture, reduced vulnerability to geopolitical disputes and tariff fluctuations and stronger intellectual property protection.

Circuitwise CEO Serena Ross said Nautech's focus on quality was a key consideration behind the acquisition.

"Quality is their number one priority, and we wanted to partner with another company with leadership and people who have the same culture as us," she said. "Nautech has a strong position in the aerospace industry, which supports our strategy of servicing mission-critical sectors with a high requirement for quality assurance. Nautech also has several new capabilities to help us deliver an even better service to our customers across Australia and New Zealand."

"Our company wanted to continue its rapid growth and had been looking for a partner with complementary capabilities to help drive that growth," said Nautech CEO Laurie Kubiak. "Circuitwise was a perfect match as it has strengths in different sectors and technical capabilities. Combining the two offers a very powerful service for product manufacturers across both countries."