Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1011746
AUGUST 2018 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 23 to rely on that operator to follow the program. CNC drills have been around 100 years, but everybody knows that it's easy enough to hit the cycle start button and change the bit. We don't have that level of automation here. We're more of a human-based than machine-based operation. I can say I don't think we can compete tech- nologically with the big guys, but we pull off some pretty good stuff for what we do. And that's kind of a nice tip of the hat to the people. We're very good at understanding our techno- logical boundaries and investing in equipment that we need to get the job done. We've spent many years here using contact printers and I couldn't even tell you the difference that a direct imager made when we bought that machine. And now we have two. Knapp: Let me take this just down a little dif- ferent path, although it's still process con- trol. Right now, there's not a place you can go in our shop that an operator doesn't have at his fingertips access to any production con - trol information he needs, information regard- ing what his procedure tells him to do, and pretty much any information that he needs. He doesn't have to go hunting down the pro - duction control guy to ask about this job. He doesn't have to hunt down the supervisor to ask, "How am I supposed to do this?" All that information is right there at his fingertips. There is a lot of time saved and a lot of misin - terpretation avoided. Feinberg: What do you see are the major road- blocks for a company like Colonial Circuits to continue to be a contributing and key part of the American circuit board fabrication indus- try? What do you see as the major roadblocks to continuing and growing a little bit? Osborn: I think finding the right qualified peo- ple with the right attitude. We need to get through to our youth that a career in manufac- turing could be a great lifetime move. I've got a junior in college working here for the sum- mer. He's going to be an engineer and he hap- pens to be a personal family friend. He's been working with Rodd's son, back in manufac- turing for nearly three weeks and yesterday I asked him how he liked it and I was amazed at how he responded. He said, "You all do a lot of neat things here. I really enjoy this job." I real- ize this is just a summer internship but receiv- ing his positive response gives me hope about our industry's future. Colonial is only 50 miles south of Washing- ton, D.C. I believe about 60% of the people who live in our area work for the government in one way or the other. They're either in the military or they work in Washington, which means they commute. This makes it difficult at times to find that craftsman or that candidate for craftsman to bring into the board shop. But when you do find them, you want to keep them. That to me is the biggest obstacle. But on the other hand, if you don't have any lam- inate to make the boards with, it's a moot is- sue (laughs). Krick: Certainly, from the manufacturing per- spective, we have had many people come in and interview and we have hired many. Some come in right off the street and show initiative and they now have pretty good tenure here, multiple years of tenure. I think even with this area, if we were to hire people off the street and what they would be willing come in and do manufacturing work for, we'd go out of business. There's so many people that come in the door and in some cases, they're asking $16 or $20 an hour to start with no education, with no background, with no nothing. There's a McDonalds up the street and they're paying people $15 an hour. How do you compete and remain profitable? Again, kids just aren't as hungry as we were 40 years ago. There's a few. You'll find them but it's rare now. I think it's changed dramati- cally just in what level of income they feel they need to be satisfied. These kids are coming in the door and they want six figures a year. They want an office. They want a chair. They want a PC. They want their phone. The less than glamorous days of getting your hands dirty and smelling chemistry and all the rest of it, they're just not interested in something like that.