Critical Manufacturing
by Critical Manufacturing · Manufacturing (MES / PLM)
MES for semiconductor, electronics and medical device shop-floor execution, owned by ASMPT.
- Works with
- SAP, Oracle
- Deployment
- On-premise, Cloud
- Pricing
- Quote-based
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Porto (Maia), Portugal
Overview
Critical Manufacturing is a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) built for high-complexity discrete manufacturing, with particular depth in semiconductor, electronics/SMT, medical device and industrial equipment production. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Porto (Maia), Portugal, the company has been a strategic investment of ASMPT (formerly ASM Pacific Technology) since 2018, positioning its software as the execution layer that complements ASMPT's SMT and semiconductor assembly hardware.
The platform is delivered as a natively integrated suite spanning production execution, quality (SPC, sampling/AQL), equipment engineering and OEE, advanced planning and scheduling, material logistics, traceability/genealogy down to batch, lot, wafer or serialized-unit level, and an Enterprise Integration module for connecting to ERP, PLM and other enterprise systems. More recent additions include the fabLIVE digital twin, IoT connectivity (Unified Namespace), and AI Copilots for shop-floor decision support.
On the ERP side, Critical Manufacturing's Enterprise Integration module uses a message-queue-based, bi-directional asynchronous integration mechanism aligned to the ANSI/ISA-95 standard, synchronizing orders, BOMs and master data from the ERP down to the MES and feeding production results, consumption and quality data back up. Customers and partners have implemented this integration against SAP in live multi-factory deployments.
Screenshots & demo
Demo video from the vendor's YouTube channel.
Features & capabilities
Production Execution & Routing
Core shop-floor execution, process flow and dispatching.
- Configurable production execution engine
- Routing and dispatching with rework paths
- Service-based resource/material matching
- Work-in-process and shop order tracking
- Electronic work instructions
Quality Management
In-line quality control and non-conformance handling.
- Statistical Process Control (variable and attribute charts)
- Sampling-based inspection with AQL support
- Non-conformance and exception management workflows
- Corrective and preventive action tracking
Equipment Engineering & Automation
Factory resource modeling, OEE and equipment connectivity.
- Hierarchical equipment/resource object model
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) tracking
- Maintenance planning and resource state management
- Tooling and reticle lifecycle management with calibration tracking
- Factory automation and equipment integration
Traceability & Genealogy
End-to-end material and product history.
- Batch, lot, wafer and serialized-unit traceability
- Full material transaction and genealogy history
- Genealogic app for product genealogy tracking
Planning, Scheduling & Logistics
Production planning and material flow.
- Advanced planning and scheduling
- Material logistics management
- Experiment management / design-of-experiments execution
Enterprise Integration
Connectivity to ERP, PLM and enterprise systems.
- Message-queue-based bi-directional integration engine
- ANSI/ISA-95-aligned enterprise-to-MES data model
- ERP order, BOM and master-data synchronization
- MES-to-ERP production and consumption feedback
- PLM integration for product design and non-conformance feedback
Digital Twin, IoT & Analytics
Real-time visualization and AI-assisted insight.
- fabLIVE factory digital twin
- IoT device connectivity and Unified Namespace
- Enterprise data platform across plants
- AI Copilots for shop-floor Q&A and dashboards
Common use cases
- Running SPC and sampling-based quality control on a semiconductor or electronics assembly line
- Tracing a serialized medical device unit from raw material lot through final assembly for regulatory audit
- Synchronizing shop orders and BOMs from SAP into the MES and feeding back production results in real time
- Modeling and tracking OEE and maintenance state across a fleet of SMT or wafer-processing equipment
- Visualizing a live digital twin of a factory floor via fabLIVE
- Managing reticle/tooling lifecycle and calibration in semiconductor fabs
- Using AI Copilots to query shop-floor data and generate dashboards without manual reporting
Strengths & considerations
Strengths
- Deep, purpose-built functionality for semiconductor, electronics/SMT and medical device manufacturing rather than a generic cross-industry MES
- Owned and strategically backed by ASMPT since 2018, pairing the software with ASMPT's SMT and semiconductor assembly equipment business
- Natively integrated single-platform suite (production, quality, equipment engineering, traceability, planning) versus bolt-on modules
- ANSI/ISA-95-aligned Enterprise Integration module purpose-built for bi-directional ERP synchronization
ERP integrations
Synchronizes orders, BOMs and master data from SAP to the MES and returns production, consumption and quality results; implemented in live multi-factory deployments by integration partners.
Same ISA-95-aligned integration framework used for ERP connectivity generally; Oracle listed among supported ERP ecosystems.
Pricing
No public pricing is listed; Critical Manufacturing sells via direct quote and implementation partners based on plant scope and modules deployed. Get an independent shortlist with pricing guidance below.
About the vendor
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Porto (Maia), Portugal
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of ASMPT (strategic investment since 2018)
Alternatives to Critical Manufacturing in Manufacturing (MES / PLM)
Critical Manufacturing — frequently asked questions
Does Critical Manufacturing integrate with SAP?
Yes. Critical Manufacturing's Enterprise Integration module provides a bi-directional, message-queue-based connection to SAP, synchronizing orders, BOMs and master data down to the shop floor and feeding production, consumption and quality results back to SAP. Integration partners have deployed this across multi-factory SAP environments.
How much does Critical Manufacturing MES cost?
Pricing is not publicly listed. Critical Manufacturing is sold on a quote basis, priced by plant scope, modules deployed and implementation requirements, typically through direct sales or certified implementation partners.
Who owns Critical Manufacturing?
Critical Manufacturing has been a strategic investment of ASMPT (formerly ASM Pacific Technology) since 2018, complementing ASMPT's SMT and semiconductor assembly equipment business with an MES software layer.
What industries does Critical Manufacturing MES serve?
It is built primarily for semiconductor, electronics/SMT, medical device and industrial equipment manufacturers that need detailed traceability, quality control and equipment engineering on the shop floor.
Evaluating Manufacturing (MES / PLM)?
Tell us your ERP and requirements and we'll send an independent shortlist — including Critical Manufacturing and the best-fit alternatives — with honest pros and cons.