Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/750006
60 The PCB Design Magazine • November 2016 SUNSTONE CIRCUITS MAKES SHIFT IN STRATEGY, OFFERINGS Our on-time delivery is right up there as well. We also have, I think, the only on-time guaran- tee for quickturn PCBs or your money back with no questions asked, in the industry. We looked at this market we're in and it's a good market for us because we have the reputation of great qual- ity and on-time delivery. They just know what they're going to get. Matties: With RF though, you don't necessarily ex- pect people to be ordering that online. Warren: No, not at this time. Matties: This is a real change in business model for you guys. Warren: Correct. Matties: Previously, I remember talking to your CEO, Terry Heilman, and he was always touting the fact that you really didn't have a sales force— that sales were all done through marketing, so to speak. This new strategy requires a sales force, more outside account managers, that sort of thing. How's that transition working in the company? Warren: It's working pretty well. We're still in the early phases of development, but we're con- fident that the customers will be very happy. Matties: You're new to the RF game. Why would they go with you over somebody who's been doing it for 10 years? Warren: What's really interesting on that is that they may be doing it for 10 years and have a pretty good niche, but we are positioned to be able to service a larger breadth of products for these customers (prototypes to production for FR-4 type of products, as well as the RF circuits). There are not a lot of manufacturers that can be great at both ends of the spectrum and Sun- stone is. The experience of our employees, our engineering and our overall support made this transition easy and successful. Matties: Right, I don't question the quality of your crew. I'm just looking at it from the perspec- tive that, if you're in sales, that's a tough hill to climb, because RF is the space everybody's going after. So I'm curious about the strategy or how you overcome that. Everyone's going to say we have great service, we have great quality. That's the cost of entry. If you don't do those things you're not going to be in business, right? You guys have been in business so I understand that you can do that. Can you do it in the RF space? Warren: I believe we can. I believe that the cus- tomers that we've picked up thus far and have put their faith in us as a supplier have been pret- ty impressed. We will continue to improve its processes and comfort level with the RF product as new challenges arise. I don't think the com- petition's really solid out there in the RF space or otherwise they would have gone somewhere else in the first place. Matties: I've talked to other companies out there that have been doing this for a number of years and they're really aggressive; they have boards, and they have a lot of traction in that space. I think it's a smart move on your part. Don't get me wrong. I'm just curious because it's a real shift in your entire strategy. Warren: It is, but you have to constantly evolve. You adapt or die. Like when we saw all the high-volume manufacturing going offshore. We adapted and went to quickturn prototypes. We listen to our customers, and listen to what their needs are. Then, we make adjustments to our game plan as we go along to fulfill their needs. The industry is changing. Sunstone has gotten to where they are today for one simple reason: "Do what you do and do it better than " We will continue to improve its processes and comfort level with the RF product as new challenges arise. "