PCB007 Magazine

PCB007-Mar2023

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MARCH 2023 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 41 When you start looking at all the higher-end technology, aside from reducing labor costs, obviously it would increase your capability and drive markets, and that would accelerate your ROI. It would bring in additional work and an addi- tional higher-profit margin. Matties: Yes, and it would increase the work. It would definitely accelerate the ROI beyond just the labor component—the quality compo- nent. Matties: What is the bottleneck right now in your facility? Plating is probably our next big bottleneck . It h a d b e e n d r i l l — a n d depending on prod- uct mix as it comes in, drill sometimes can be our bottleneck—but it's moving over toward the plating area . A gain , ano ther check for looking into that project. Shaughnessy: Matt, regarding labor, do you have relationships with colleges or tech schools nearby? How do you stay on top of that to keep a pipeline going? Yes, we have a good relationship with a local community college that has a manufacturing technician course of study. I'm on the board for that program, so we use that leverage to add courses that will help our employees be more successful working at Sunstone—and have more appetite for it as well. at's probably our main source. We work with some local univer- sities for designers. We could potentially bring people in for design help and get help through those programs as well. Shaughnessy: Are you hiring right now? We currently have four openings, all of them off-shi in the manufacturing department. ey're a l l a t t r i t i o n a t t h i s point. Shaughnessy: Many of your staff members have been there for 20 to 25 years. Our average length of service is 12 to 13 years. Rocky Catt, one of our owners, has been here almost 50 years; we have a couple other 40-plus- year employees and several 10-plus-year employ- ees. It's been a good place to spend a career. Shaughnessy: Well, you must be doing some- thing right. That's good. Matt, thank you. You're very welcome. We're always willing to sit down and talk with you guys. We learn a lot, and hopefully you get something from it as well. PCB007 Download The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to... Designing for Reality by Matt Stevenson.

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