Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1476200
50 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2022 have proven ourselves with many global OEMs where you must focus on the overall relation- ship, and gain an understanding for the orga- nization, their needs, their technical roadmap, and more so that you can align your organiza- tion with the customer. is allows you to offer more value and that leads to a long-term rela- tionship. I go back to the design expertise. If we're pulling out costs given our design guidance, that can lead to 10, 15, 20, 25% savings that is providing the customer with significant value oen far more than a piece price difference when moving to production. We've had cases where somebody comes to us with a rigid-flex design and we said, "You can do that, but we can move this to a flex design and cut your costs in half or even more." at's huge savings, offer- ing significant value to the customer. When you look to build a relationship, you also must tout what you're doing for that company, so they understand the value you are bringing to keep that relationship going. Further savings in design are critical today, given increased costs in components and with certain materials. At the same time, copper pricing is down which helps, and for us, wage inflation in Asia is not as impactful as other parts of the globe. Shaughnessy: at's good. Anything on the rigid-flex side? We hear a lot of interest in rigid-flex. Burkett: Yes, it continues to grow within our overall product portfolio and no doubt there are increased needs. Again, as with most specialty interconnects, attaining success with rigid-flex starts with getting to a design that is cost-effec- tive and that can be built at higher yields. At FCT we do an outstanding job related to rigid- flex design that leads to improved success when going to production. While rigid-flex is a more costly solution, given trends and chal- lenging applications, it may be the most effec- tive solution dependent upon what the prod- uct design engineer is needing to accomplish. With our new Zhuhai facility, rigid-flex is one of the targets to, again, increase our capabili- ties. We already build rigid-flex in China in our facilities, but again will continue to push our- selves related to our overall capabilities that will allow us to meet broader and more com- plex needs. Shaughnessy: Carey, thanks for the conversa- tion. Burkett: You're very welcome, Andy. PCB007