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Maintaining Innovation in Israeli Industry – YES, WE CAN!
Comtel Israel manufactures and develops solutions for electronic systems and components. Mr. Natan Saranga - together with company management - speaks about promoting innovation in Israeli society and the accompanying values that guide every stage of the work process.

In recent years, Israel has increasingly been perceived as an international center of innovation. The country’s entrepreneurial spirit, industrious culture, and population’s strong technical skills have gained it recognition in the global arena as it has undertaken national efforts to expand innovation and lead in future technologies through investment in human capital in academia and industry R&D. The innovation has enabled companies in Israel to position themselves as an excellent launching pad for global business competition.
Today, according to the 2020-2021 Innovation Report, Israel continues to maintain a global lead in R&D investment as a percentage of GDP. However, it’s on a downward trend in global indices of innovation. One important way to respond and adapt to global competition is to introduce new products to the market. Innovative thinking and acceleration of new technologies are critical to the organization’s success and progress. For creative efforts and investment to advance from the theoretical to the implementation phase, professionals are needed who will be able to lead new product development and provide the organization with chances to explore new niches, create advanced capabilities, and develop a competitive strategy.

Innovation as a Launchpad for Business Competition
Comtel Israel Electronic Solution Ltd., located in Kfar Saba, is currently celebrating 20 years of innovation in cutting-edge technology and as one of the leading examples in innovation on a global scale. The CEO of Comtel Israel, Mr. Natan Saranga - together with company management - speaks about promoting innovation in Israeli society and the values guiding the company’s success.
“We were founded 20 years ago by our parent company - Comtel Electronics GmbH - based in Munich, Germany. Since then, we’ve been keen to develop as a global company that provides advanced technological solutions to the Israeli market. Comtel Israel is a leader in the development and production of solutions for electronic systems and components. We deal with diverse and varied fields in the industry. You can find us on the development floor of almost every relevant industry in Israel and around the globe. Our customer base covers a wide range of fields, such as military companies, defense industries, high tech, telecom, data, automotive, cellular, automation and control, medical companies, lighting control and more.”
Natan explains: “Israel is a world-leading entrepreneurial powerhouse with a wide variety of highly advanced technologies, despite our great military, geographic and political challenges, which push us to be even more creative and innovative.” Comtel Israel’s goal is to make advanced solutions accessible to the Israeli market.

Comtel Israel’s components can be found everywhere, including security systems to protect airspace, vehicular warning systems, robots for cleaning solar panels, diamond polishing systems, portable cellular systems, ingredients for Food-Tech companies producing plant-based meat substitutes, smartphone interfaces, flight computers, medical components for MRI or CT scans, smart roads, household electrical junction boxes, desalination plants, rugged and non-rugged telecom computing systems and more. “Our wide deployment in various markets is part of our agenda,” explains Natan.

A Method of Innovation and Planning to Break the Mold
We asked Comtel Israel’s VP Marketing, Yafit Saranga: how does it work in practice? How has a company in the electronic components market succeeded in contributing to the development of Israeli industry?
“One of the things that’s been important to us over the years is to introduce highly advanced products coupled with innovative working methods. Our out-of-the-box thinking is present at the product, sales, and project level. Innovation also requires significant company investment, whether it’s in skilled and professional industry experts, advanced manufacturing technologies, or high-quality customer service. We take on courageous people who are ready to lead change in the industry. It’s easy to sell a connector with the old screw technology of the past 50 years. However, offering the market an innovative connector from WAGO - the inventor of innovative spring technology - and then persuading consumers that this technology will save time, money, and resources is already more difficult. Our parent company - Comtel Electronics - is also the first company in the world to produce a backplane technology capable of supporting more than 100 GB. Our technological solutions are not only for the high-tech market, where the components are more delicate, but also for rugged systems working in challenging conditions.”

Yafit explains: “In every meeting, we push people to enthusiastically identify new technologies and markets that we can penetrate and grow in. Today’s hot topics, namely the ‘Internet of Things,’ control and automation, are our classic products. Our world is incredibly dynamic, and we have the know-how to keep an eye on new technologies and bring them to Israel in order to develop the Israeli market.”
“As part of being a global company,” explains Natan Saranga, “Comtel Israel really has its figurative finger on the pulse of the industry. We always say that customers know what they need right now, but we know what they’ll need in the future. A company of our size enjoys huge financial backing from our German parent company, in addition to extensive capabilities. There are eight branches of Comtel in the world that connect us to a strong global network exposed to cutting-edge technology.” Natan adds: “It’s part of our strength, knowing what the customer really needs, their prospective needs, not just the ‘here and now,’ but a broad long-term vision. The knowledge we have as a global company is greater than any knowledge that a local company could have. We learn from projects executed not only in Israel, but across the globe. We call this ‘open innovation’ - our ability to learn information and retrieve resources from outside the company in Israel. In this way, we’re able to bring exceptional and unique knowledge, experience, and innovation to the Israeli market.”

In-Depth Knowledge of the Israeli Market and European Service Standards
“Our suppliers are a significant part of our success,” says Kobi Ganon, Business Development Manager at Comtel Israel. “We’ve been working with them in full transparency as partners for the past 20 years and have developed a culture of trust and openness. They know our Israeli customers personally and this contributes to our ability to offer high-level technical and professional solutions in Israel. When the customer has a complex technical solution, we call on senior engineers in the global market and provide a quick and professional solution.”

Ganon adds: “The Israeli market isn’t an ordinary market. Unlike other global markets, Israel’s market is notorious for its impatience. No matter how many SLAs and delivery times you set for the customer, at the end of the day, the customer will still demand the order earlier than promised. The frequency of the Israeli market is different, both in its scheduling and competitive pricing. European companies don’t always agree to work this way. In other words, we’re a European company with an Israeli sense of stubbornness. A project abroad will take a year, but with us it’ll take just two months.”

Disadvantages of the Modern Digital Age and the Need for a Personal Connection
The value of service is the key element in Comtel’s vision, as Kobi Ganon explains. “In the digital age, people tend to go to a specific online store and buy relatively inexpensive components, but as an engineer you don’t know what you’ll get in the end. Even though the same engineer saw the website or the component booklet, there is no salesperson to consult, no personal technical support and no general oversight. As a result, we greatly assist leading engineers in local industry. We know how to provide them with the latest technology, which they might not even be aware of.”
Comtel has three main divisions: 1) a Components Division that represents various manufacturing companies in the mechanical and electrical components sector; 2) an Automation and Control Solutions Division; and 3) a Projects Division where Comtel is a developer and manufacturer of all required solutions from the System House, specializing in the development, manufacture, and supply of embedded computing systems with an expertise in backplane core technologies.
Natan explains: “We have a huge capability for development, production and technological leadership. We utilize cutting-edge technology in everything related to the world of high speed, power, and signal integrity. This is a result of our direct and personal collaboration with experts, and not remote communication via a website. Even engineers in the military sector - who are usually highly skilled, but solitary working employees - need to consult with other professionals. They certainly can bring an abundance of knowledge in their sector, but not everyone is an expert in backplane, systems, and collective solutions. And this is exactly where we come in.”

YES, WE CAN - A Commitment to Success
One of the most common expressions among Comtel Israel employees is “YES, WE CAN,” which only demonstrates their stubbornness in overcoming obstacles. Yoni Yitzhari, the company’s Operations Manager, explains: “Even if the customer told us that they failed elsewhere, we’ll look for a creative solution until we succeed in accomplishing the task given to us. The journey is completed only when the product reaches the end customer. We’re not afraid of taking risks. Even if we didn’t succeed the first time, we’ll locate the problem, learn from it, and try again. Perseverance is the name of the game.”

In the electronics, automotive and aerospace industries, studies have shown that up to 3000 raw ideas are needed to achieve one new, successful product on the market (Stevens & Burley, 1997). In order to lead innovation in Israeli industry, a company needs to encourage transformative leadership, create a stable climate supportive of groundbreaking innovation, and spur creative thinking and novel solutions to customer challenges. Furthermore, the participation and perseverance of key stakeholders throughout the process is crucial. “We promote a culture of intellectualism and curiosity, and are always encouraging our employees to develop. Comtel Israel’s ability to meet technological challenges provides a stimulus for the development of Israeli industry. Finally, the satisfaction is enormous,” says Natan Saranga, “to see our components in the latest innovative technologies in the Israeli market. This brings us happiness and even a sense of Zionistic pride.”