Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1437606
42 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 Barry Matties: Travis, in our past interviews we talked a lot about your commitment to a strong culture. is new facility is a positive reflection of that, for sure. Travis Kelly: Yes. We spend a lot of time show- ing our employees that we care because obvi- ously they are the most valuable resource at Isola. We want to provide a nice environment. We're always doing new things that reinforce to our employees that they are appreciated. e employees really like it and understand that we care about them. In the new facility, Isola invested in an expanded state-of-the-art laboratory to support quality and R&D. The lab includes a variety of testing equip- ment, from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis for identification of contaminants, to micro- section equipment used for evaluation of printed cir- cuit board integrity after thermal excursions. Ed Kel- ley and Jenny Inocencio kicked off the tour in the new laboratory. Matties: How does this new lab compare to your previous facility? Ed Kelley: In our previous building, it was mostly a manufacturing area, so we had to squeeze the R&D labs into that building. is new building was designed to specifically allo- cate space for R&D purposes. Matties: What is the R&D team focused on now? E. Kelley: Historically, a lot of laminate suppli- ers relied on outside suppliers of resins; we continue to do so, but we're also looking at tai- loring certain polymers for our own purposes. Many of the resins we buy can be used in all sorts of applications. We might want to take some of these commercially available resins and formulate them with something that we've The Johann Schumacher Laboratory is named for an Isola technical fellow and engineer who has developed numerous innovations throughout his 35 years with Isola. Ed Kelley in the R&D and analytical lab.