PCB Assembly and Sheet Metal
Fabrication for a Global Military Training
Systems Provider
For more than twenty years, IMS has built the circuit boards behind a multinational defence company’s military training systems, deployed with the Canadian Armed Forces and allied militaries in Germany and the UK.
Here’s how that partnership has grown over two decades.
20
Year Relationship
~1,000
Units built annually
50+
Active SKUs
IPC 3
Quality Standard
A multinational defence technology company with training systems deployed worldwide.
IMS supports a multinational defence technology company that develops military training systems used by armed forces around the world. Their systems include land, sea, and air targets controlled from a central command centre, allowing operators to simulate realistic combat scenarios for military training.
The company manufactures globally, including a facility in Alberta that has worked with IMS for more than two decades. Today, the Canadian Armed Forces, along with military organizations in Germany, the United Kingdom, and many other countries, train with their systems.
The relationship began when IMS founder Dave Elhard brought the account with him from a previous employer. The client chose to continue working with him, and that partnership has continued to grow ever since.
As a Canadian defence contractor, IMS builds the electronics behind programs like this one, supporting prime manufacturers whose equipment ultimately serves Canadian and allied militaries.
Electronics embedded in live military training scenarios.
The completed assemblies are integrated into military training systems used to simulate realistic combat scenarios.
These systems control land, sea, and air targets while coordinating exercises through a central command centre. IMS-manufactured electronics are used within both the training equipment and elements of the supporting control infrastructure.
Electronics designed and manufactured in Alberta—deployed in live military training environments across three continents.
For many people, it may come as a surprise that manufacturing supporting defence training programs like these takes place right here in Alberta. Yet for more than twenty years, IMS has supported this work from its Calgary facility.
Circuit board assemblies and sheet metal fabrication for mission-critical training equipment.
IMS began the relationship building through-hole PCB assemblies, the electronics that form the operational backbone of the client’s military training systems. Over two decades, designs have evolved considerably. IMS has adapted alongside every revision, incorporating updated components and accommodating supply chain changes without disrupting production continuity.
In 2024, the client brought sheet metal fabrication to IMS as well — work the client had been buying out of Atlantic Canada. Consolidating two disciplines with a single Alberta supplier reduced the client’s vendor count and eliminated the coordination overhead that comes with splitting production across provinces.
PCB Assembly
Through-hole and updated surface-mount designs built to IPC Class 3, the highest standard in life-critical applications.
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Structural and enclosure components that had been sourced out of province are now produced in Calgary, Alberta.
IPC Class 3 workmanship, with thermal stress testing to defence environmental standards.
Every PCB assembly is manufactured to IPC Class 3, the highest workmanship standard governing electronics where performance under pressure is non-negotiable.
For many years, every board also underwent thermal stress testing inside IMS’s environmental chamber. Assemblies were cycled for 24 hours between -40°C and +80°C before shipment, validating performance under demanding operating conditions. This requirement remained in place until the testing specification changed several years ago.
Boards cycled from -40°C to +80°C for 24 hours—because field conditions don’t accommodate component failure.
Today, IMS continues producing approximately 1,000 assemblies annually across more than 50 active SKUs, each manufactured to the same IPC Class 3 standard.
Consistency at scale, across two decades of design evolution.
The defining challenge of this relationship isn’t a single project obstacle. It’s the sustained production discipline required to build consistently across more than 50 SKUs, through multiple design generations, without ever letting quality slip or continuity break.
As the client’s designs evolved, IMS adapted each time: qualifying new components, updating processes, managing supply chain transitions, and absorbing scope changes without requiring the client to re-qualify a new manufacturing partner. That kind of institutional knowledge takes years to build. It can’t be replicated quickly.
Design Evolution
Multiple product generations managed without disrupting production continuity or requiring the client to start over with a new supplier.
Component Transitions
As parts reached end-of-life or supply chain availability shifted, IMS managed qualification of replacements and substitutes on the client’s behalf.
Volume Consistency
Approximately 1,000 units per year across 50+ SKUs, each built to IPC Class 3, all requiring the same level of process rigour regardless of run size.
Expanding Scope
When the client was ready to consolidate sheet metal fabrication, IMS absorbed that scope without friction. No new vendor. No new relationship to build.
20 years. Expanding scope. Continued trust.
More than twenty years after the relationship began, IMS remains one of the client’s trusted manufacturing partners. The relationship has expanded from PCB assembly into sheet metal fabrication, with future discussions around box build already underway.
The relationship has outlasted component generations, design revisions, and market disruptions —and it’s still active today. For a procurement team evaluating a manufacturing partner for a long-term program, that track record is the most honest answer IMS can give.
20+
Years of continuous partnership
Still the supplier of record across multiple product generations.
50+
Active SKUs in production
Supporting multiple product families simultaneously.
2
Manufacturing disciplines
PCB assembly and sheet metal fabrication consolidated with IMS.
~1,000
Units Built Annually
Each to IPC Class 3 workmanship standards
One of the strongest indicators of a successful manufacturing partnership is what the customer says.
265
Purchase orders issued to IMS since 2009
Top 5
Consistently ranked among their critical suppliers
2025
Second-highest annual order volume on record
Partnership Timeline
Relationship Begins
PCB assembly for through-hole boards supporting the client’s training system electronics. The account follows Dave Elhard from a previous employer, a testament to the trust built over years of prior work.
Program Evolves
IMS adapts alongside successive design updates: qualifying new components, updating processes, and managing supply chain transitions without disrupting production
Scope Expands
The client brings sheet metal fabrication to IMS — work previously sourced from Atlantic Canada. Two disciplines. One Alberta supplier. Simpler coordination.
Ongoing & Growing
The relationship continues today, with conversations underway about expanding further into box build as the client’s program evolves.
