Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1058015
62 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 by Dan Feinberg I-CONNECT007 With IPC APEX EXPO 2019 right around the corner, I spoke with Dr. Jim Hickman who was one of the original pioneers for the event along with myself. We discuss the show's history and how it has changed over the years. Dan Feinberg: Hey, Jim, I'm calling so we can talk about the past. Jim Hickman: 25 years ago, I figure. Feinberg: It was about 23–24 years ago. Hickman: 24 years ago. Feinberg: Yeah, in the spring. Oh my goodness. Hickman: That's when we were young, right? Feinberg: That's right. We were a lot younger anyway. We were in our 50s then, so think about it. Wow. Hickman: I'm 76 now. Feinberg: And I'll be 76 in a couple of months. First, let's start with a little bit of history. Back in the mid-'90s when you were with DuPont, and I was with Dynachem. We were competi- tors, but we worked well together on various IPC things. I got a call from Thom Dammrich who was IPC president at the time, and he asked me to put together a suppliers counsel. At that time, if you recall, IPC suppliers could not be full members—we were associate members. So, we didn't have a whole lot of say on many things, but that was starting to change; hence why they asked us to set up the first Suppliers Counsel. I contacted a number of folks including you at DuPont, MacDer- mid, Excellon, Shipley, LeRonal and me with Dynachem/Morton. Hickman: Was Gould on that board? Feinberg: Yes, that could have been. I was trying to look it up, but I don't have the records. That was a long time ago and a different life for me. APEX Pioneers Discuss the Original EXPO Jim Hickman Dan Feinberg