Continuing in our quest to highlight Fremont-based manufacturing and technology companies that support Silicon Valley’s innovation economy, we recently caught up with Essai, a global player that provides engineering solutions and rapid prototyping to the who’s who of advanced industries.

City of Fremont: Briefly describe Essai and the primary markets you serve.

Scott Forster: Essai is an innovation support company. We provide custom solutions for companies seeking to get products to market at accelerated performance, increased profitability, and faster timescales. We work across most electro and electro-mechanical markets including fast-moving consumer electronics, aerospace, life sciences, automotive, manufacturing, and test automation, as well as defense.

Fremont: Essai has been ranked by Inc. 5000 as one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, and yet, you don’t see the name Essai on products. Can you explain this?

SF: Believe it or not, Essai has been included in America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies for three years in a row! I guess it’s because we make the technology inside the technology, or the technology that makes the technology work. While you might never see the Essai brand, I can almost guarantee everyone reading this has held or used a technology that we have supported. When innovative companies hit a road block, we’re the resource they turn to for a solution. Whether it’s a new device with breakthrough performance or a design that contains a manufacturing challenge, we find a way to make it happen.

Fremont: Aside from your headquarter operations in Fremont, why is it important to have a manufacturing presence in Silicon Valley?

SF: We’re a Silicon Valley company with a global reach. I’m not sure there are many places in the area that operate 24/7 supporting design and manufacturing. We have materials testing, design, and engineering in close proximity to real manufacturing and assembly. This proximity, combined with some unique business processes, leads to uniquely reactive innovation capability.

Fremont: Can you talk about Essai’s strong commitment to sustainability and reducing its environmental impact?

SF: Essai is continuously seeking to reduce its impact on the world around us. We take pride in our green working initiative. It’s about continuously assessing our work and the work we undertake to ensure that the negative environmental impacts are reduced.

Fremont: What do you see as Essai’s biggest growth opportunities?

SF: In the last year, we’ve seen a huge diversification in Silicon Valley, with classical computing power migrating into automation, transportation and even medical sciences. With self-driving vehicles, drone/UAVs, and the connected world of “Internet of Things” starting to trickle out into the market through real-life applications, we’re always looking to support the next wave of innovation that’s waiting around the corner. We pride ourselves in maintaining client confidentiality, but it’s really a special feeling to be right at the cutting edge of technology development and implementation, making the world a smarter and more efficient place to be. Collecting, managing, and utilizing data is clearly a trend that will continue to grow, and wherever there’s a technical challenge, we’ll be there to help.