EMSNOW

 Eric  discuss the U.S. PCB industry with David Schild, Executive Director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA). The two analyze President Biden's State of the Union address where he celebrated the passing of the CHIPS Act, the recent U.S. legislation bringing substantial investment in domestic capabilities for manufacturing semiconductors. The two comment on the implications for our industry of this unprecedented public investment in domestic electronics manufacturing, including printed circuit boards, since 'chips don't float'. This thoughtful discussion delves into the 'what happens next' to leverage this positive development, including addressing the workforce challenges and much more. 

Eric learns about Waldom Electronics’ unique business model from its new CEO Don Akery. Waldom Electronics calls itself the ‘distributors’ distributor,’ which means they add value to the authorized channel by taking in excess inventory from suppliers and authorized distributors; inspecting, restocking, and making that inventory available to distributors to enable them to sell parts that may be in short supply. It’s a fascinating discussion of a set of valuable ‘behind the scenes’ inventory services that benefit the EMS industry by making fully vetted components available through the authorized distribution channel.

Eric speaks with Kevin Clue, Vice President, Global Sales, High Flex Division, Mycronic, who recently joined the organization. They discuss his background and Mycronic's successful 2022; the company's expansion in Mexico, plans for APEX, and much more. Mycronic's unique differentiator as a full-service SMT solutions provider enables a high level of process integration and they continue to introduce new innovations in data management and human machine interface.

Eric grabs some time with American Sun Components (ASC) Founder, Mario Gaete to learn about this global stocking distributor's business. They discuss what makes ASC unique among distributors, how they serve their customers, and Mario's views about what the industry needs to do to lessen global component supply disruptions. Eric asks Mario about his views looking ahead at 2023 and 2024 - will the component shortage situation get better?

Cybord is a visual-AI component analytics software system used to increase the reliability and traceability of the PCBs produced.

In this video, Eric learns from Cybord's CFO Zeev Efrat, how this company came to be and how this solution can identify problem components and increase product reliability. It's a fascinating application of AI that may really be a breakthrough.

Dale Ford is Chief Analyst with the Electronic Component Industry Association (ECIA) and in that capacity collects data about lead times and trends for all the electronic component categories. He and Eric discuss the latest forecast and the state of the supply chain in this very insightful interview. It's well worth your time.

Things really have changed for the US PCB industry in the last few decades. Production has dropped from around a quarter of the world’s production to just a few percent. In this edition of The EMS (Eric Miscoll Show), Philip and Eric explore the potential to see a return to those halcyon days with guests from the IPC and the PCBAA. Guests Travis Kelly, President and CEO of the Isola Group and PCBAA Chairman, and Chris Mitchell, Vice President of Global Government Relations at IPC, start with a brief history of the PCB industry in the USA before going on to look at just what’s possible and what associations, government and industry can do to help. The panel discussed HR7677, the Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act of 2022, levels of investment required, opportunities and threats, as well as the role of neighbors Mexico and Canada.

This episode of The EMS (Eric Miscoll Show) is sponsored by global inspection leader Koh Young (https://kohyoungamerica.com) and global manufacturing solutions provider Panasonic Connect (https://na.panasonic.com/us/panasonic…)

Eric discusses the current state of process automation in North America with Gustavo Sepulveda, Panasonic Connect. Gustavo explains precisely how this solution addresses industry challenges, how Mexico has captured electronics manufacturing as the re-shoring trend accelerates, the importance of automation in the talent crisis, and much more.

On their last podcast from the EMSNOW Tour 2022, Eric and Dieter discuss visits to BDT and Katek in Southern Germany, and the overall German EMS industry.

At  BDT (Bavaria Digital Technik), they met with Managing Director Manuel Stelzer and CFO Josef Ober. Dieter explains his history with this company that he has tracked through his annual European EMS report. 

At the Katek they visited, they met with Managing Director Michael Schwell and Jurgen Lautner, one of the original family owners of that facility before it was acquired by Katek. 

In this conversation, as in all the 12 previous podcasts on this remarkable EMS tour, these two professionals offer insights not available anywhere else.

EMSNOW is grateful to CalcuQuote, Cogiscan, and Mycronic

Eric and Dieter are back in Germany on their way to electronica 2022. They stopped to tour two privately held, medium-sized EMS focused on the industrial sector.

Coronex EMS is in Ratingen; there they met with Stefan Hauf, General Manager of this facility producing electronics for the industrial market including the telecom, medical, defense and mining sectors. Dieter shares his knowledge of the background of this company that he has been following. 

The second stop was in Achem where the two toured Fritsch Elektronik and met with owners Matthias Sester and Josef Ober. Dieter had some insights about the market sectors this size of EMS serves and why. The discussion wraps up with a forward look at the rest of the trip.

EMSNOW thanks CalcuQuote, Cogiscan, and Mycronic.