Doug Hauck, Co-Founder of Signum, is a rare combination of visionary, problem-solver, and innovator whose career in electronics spans over three decades.
In shortDoug Hauck, Co-Founder of Signum, is a rare combination of visionary, problem-solver, and innovator whose career in electronics spans over three decades.
3 things to know
1Doug Hauck, Co-Founder of Signum, is a rare combination of visionary, problem-solver, and innovator whose career in electronics spans over three decades.
2From designing critical circuit assemblies for agricultural machinery to launching the Rackulator—a first-of-its-kind digital antler scoring tool—Doug has made quite the impact on the world.
3Q: How long you have you been working in electronics?
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Doug Hauck, Co-Founder of Signum, is a rare combination of visionary, problem-solver, and innovator whose career in electronics spans over three decades. From designing critical circuit assemblies for agricultural machinery to launching the Rackulator—a first-of-its-kind digital antler scoring tool—Doug has made quite the impact on the world.
We sat down with him to learn more.
Q: How long you have you been working in electronics?
A: I’ve been in the electronics business since 1990, when I had my first internship with a defense contractor in the Twin Cities. I did a couple of stints as an intern there before landing my first full-time job at Phoenix International in Fargo in 1993. So, it’s been 31 years now.
Q: What types of things were you doing at Phoenix International?
A: At Phoenix International, I worked on designing, troubleshooting, and building circuit board assemblies for off-highway vehicles, agriculture equipment, and heavy and light construction machinery.
I often worked on the control and display of information dashboards— things like controlling header height or adjusting the speeds of various processes on agricultural machines like combines. In 2004, I started a company called Amber Waves Electronics, focusing on contract engineering. At that point, I was hired to work on all kinds of projects, from industrial controls to consumer devices. One of the more interesting projects we worked on was a device called the Rackulator. It was designed for hunters to measure and score the size of antlers on deer they harvested. The Rackulator was the brainchild of a neighbor from ranch country in western North Dakota, and we designed and built it at Amber Waves Electronics.
Q: Was that the first of its kind?
A: Yes. I think to this day, it’s the only electronic game scoring tool.
Q: Is it pretty widely distributed?
A: Yes, you can buy one through the Cabela’s catalog. Among the trophy deer hunting crowd, they’re actually pretty common.
Q: That had to be pretty cool.
A: It was a pretty cool project and a lot of fun to work on. I was living and working in Richardton, ND—a tiny village in the southwest corner of the state where I still work today.
Let’s just say we didn’t have much technology back in the early 2000s. To build the Rackulator, I ended up hiring the entire football team and all the little old ladies in town who had some spare time. We assembled these devices in batches of a thousand, and it was quite a challenge to put them together, calibrate them, and ensure they were accurate. But it was a lot of fun.
Fast forward to 2017, when I met Ed Schwind. We were both independently working on projects with the same goal: gathering data and getting it onto the internet— what we now call the Internet of Things (IoT). These projects often involved not only collecting data but also enabling control through devices like phones or computers.
For example, Ed worked on a project that monitored the temperature of sugar beet piles in the Red River Valley to prevent spoilage. Meanwhile, I was working on a similar concept in the western part of the state with oil field tanks. We wanted to monitor tank batteries to ensure they didn’t overflow and to dispatch trucks to gather oil before any issues arose. Both projects involved remote areas where data needed to be sent back to a central location for decision-making— whether at a sugar beet factory or an oil field dispatch center.
Within a couple of years, Ed and I realized how complementary our skill sets were. I specialized in designing and manufacturing circuits, while Ed excelled in programming and software development. In 2019, we decided to merge our expertise and start a company called Signum. Initially, we ran our independent companies under the Signum umbrella, but by 2022, we officially merged everything into Signum and hired everyone back as Signum employees. It’s been an exciting journey, combining our teams and skill sets to build innovative IoT solutions.
Did You Know?
Doug Hauck’s first company, Amber Waves Electronics, helped bring the Rackulator, a digital scoring tool designed to accurately measure and score antlers for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, to market.
Q: What has your two companies being together allowed you to do that you weren’t able to do previously?
A: Bringing everything under one roof really enabled us to become a one-stop shop. Now, one company handles everything— from hardware development to the final manufacture of a completed assembly—and sends out a single invoice for the entire process. Before, the process was more fragmented. We’d design the hardware and prototype it, then send it over to Fargo for firmware and software development in collaboration with the customer. Once that was done, it would come back to Richardton for manufacturing and replication. Combining the two companies and skill sets under one umbrella made everything seamless. Now, customers can simply give us their requirements, and we handle it all— designing the hardware, developing the software, and manufacturing the final product. It’s allowed us to truly become a one-stop shop for custom electronics.
Q: Is that uncommon in the region?
A: It’s actually pretty uncommon to have manufacturing and product development under the same roof. Typically, engineers focus on designing and developing, while manufacturing teams handle production. But we’ve combined both, which isn’t something you see often in the industry. That said, it’s more common in Fargo because of the history of electronics in the area. At Phoenix International— later acquired by John Deere—they operated with both engineering and manufacturing in one place. Many of the electronics professionals in this region have worked at Phoenix or John Deere at some point, so the model is more familiar here. But in the broader business world, it’s still pretty rare.
Q: Are their any industries you work with most frequently?
A: Our clients are actually quite diverse. We work with industries ranging from medical devices to consumer-grade electronics. That said, our primary focus and biggest customers at the moment are in the medical device industry and the light construction machinery industry.
Q: What types of things are those verticals using?
A: In the construction industry, think of all the electronics that go into a small loader—displays, communication systems, and more. Just like in a modern automobile with OnStar, these machines now have telematics that communicate issues to the dealership, manufacturer, or owner. For example, if you have hired help running your machine, it’s helpful to know if it’s being abused or if it’s time for an oil change and no one is watching the gauge. Telematics has become pretty standard. If it has wheels, it’s likely connected to the internet. This allows you to track things like the last oil change or error messages. It’s no longer enough to rely on a simple ‘Check Engine’ light, which people are trained to ignore. Now, detailed information is communicated to the cloud, where the vehicle owner, OEM, or dealer can act on it.
Q: What companies should reach out to you for business?
A: Anyone in need of custom electronics design or manufacturing.
One of our biggest clients in the medical device industry is developing a disposable, one-time-use device used in surgical procedures. While I can’t share too many details due to an NDA, I can say we’re responsible for designing the hardware and creating the algorithms that perform the required functions during the surgery. Our expertise lies in making devices that are small, highly manufacturable, and capable of performing accurately under various circumstances encountered during these procedures. This particular device has been a game-changer, helping save around 8,000 lives each month. Recently, the client tasked us with integrating IoT functionality into the device. Now, it gathers data during the surgical process, enabling them to improve care, better train clinicians and surgeons, and drive design improvements for future iterations of the device. Essentially, we’re bringing IoT technology into the operating room to enhance both the procedure and the outcomes.
Q: I imagine companies continue to work with you to improve their product?
A: That’s right. With these medical devices, for example, we’ve learned it’s a continuous improvement process. Companies are generally expected to release a new and improved version of their device at least once a year.
Q: Are there companies or businesses out there that people usually wouldn’t think of using IoT, but like might benefit?
A: It’s almost hard to imagine an electronic device that wouldn’t benefit from connectivity. You can think of a use case for virtually any device these days. What isn’t connected to the internet anymore? Even bicycles now have tracking devices you can discreetly attach, allowing you to track them if they’re stolen. These devices use GPS to determine their location, send the data to the internet, and let you access it via your phone or computer to find your bike. The same concept is being applied to pets and even livestock. For instance, IoT is being used to track cows. It’s incredible how far this has come—everything from coffee machines that let you know when you’re out of coffee to refrigerators that keep track of your eggs and apples. Whether it’s a device that uses electricity or even something like animals, the possibilities are endless.
Q: What types of businesses are you primarily working with? Is it larger businesses?
A: We work with a wide range of clients, from billion-dollar operations in Silicon Valley to new inventors creating brand-new products that have never been thought of before. We’re truly all over the map.
Q: What is your mission with Signum?
A: Our mission is to build a world-class company specializing in the design and manufacture of electronic circuit boards, particularly in IoT. We’re here to help our clients succeed, but just as importantly, we aim to create a stable company that our people are proud to work at.
Q: Is there anything exciting Signum has coming up with any new products or services you guys are offering in your future?
A: The challenge is that most of our interesting products are under NDA, so no one is ready to discuss them publicly until they make their marketing splash. However, we can share that we’re in the process of creating a redundant assembly line in our factory in Richardton. This addition will not only double our production capability but also meet the requirements of large manufacturers who can’t afford downtime. For example, companies producing 5000 devices per month need redundancy to ensure there are no interruptions, even if a machine goes down. Once the second full surface-mount assembly line is operational, we’ll be putting out a press release. Surface-mount assembly is the process used to manufacture circuit boards, where tiny components like chips and resistors are picked and placed onto the board. Since 2004, back in the Amber Waves Electronics days, we’ve used automated manufacturing machines for this process. This second line will enhance our capacity and provide the redundancy that our clients demand.
Q: What is the main problem you are trying to solve for your customers?
A: Our mission is to ensure our clients understand that we offer world-class design of hardware, software, and firmware—along with manufacturing capabilities. Surprisingly, we still have clients who don’t realize we can handle volume manufacturing. It’s something we need to communicate better because it’s a significant and growing part of our business. Typically, in the industry, you invent something, design it, create a set of prints describing how to manufacture it, and then hand it off to a manufacturing company to build to those prints. At Signum, we not only design the prints but can also handle the manufacturing in-house. We’re starting to make more connections and attract projects where clients come to us with their build-to-print needs. While our engineers are often busy designing print packages for future manufacturing, our manufacturing lines have capacity. A big priority for us is getting those lines filled and running consistently. It’s all about balancing the design and manufacturing sides of the business to meet our clients’ needs while keeping both parts of the operation thriving.
Q: What does the client journey look like with you?
A: The biggest advantage of having your design engineering and manufacturing handled by the same firm is achieving an optimal design— one that is easiest to assemble, least expensive, and has the shortest lead time. When the people who design a product are also responsible for supporting its manufacturing, it creates a seamless process. If everything is under one roof, issues can’t be ignored. For example, if a manufacturing problem arises, the team can immediately address it and redesign if necessary. However, if you hire one company to design the product and another to manufacture it, any problems become more complicated. The manufacturer will come back to you to tell the designer to fix it, and the designer might then ask for more money to make changes. When the design and manufacturing teams work together in the same building, they conduct thorough design reviews before production even begins. This helps identify and prevent many potential problems, saving time, money, and headaches for everyone involved.”
Q: Why is Signum a great place to work?
A: Our approach is pretty straightforward: we put interesting work in front of smart people and let them show us what they can do. We don’t stand over anyone’s shoulder. People are here to succeed, and we trust them to do just that.
Editor of Fargo INC! — covering the founders, companies, and ideas shaping business in Fargo-Moorhead. Eleven years in, still no opinions, no politics, all business.
