Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1062752
10 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 Feature by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 The PCB Carolina show in Raleigh, North Carolina, has grown quite a bit in the past decade from a local show to a regional event that now draws attendees and exhibitors from all over the U.S. At PCB Carolina 2018, I met with show founders Tony Cosentino, Randy Faucette, and Lance Olive, who are all employees at the Better Boards service bureau in nearby Cary. I asked the trio to discuss the show's his- tory, its relationship to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) North Carolina Chapter of the IPC Designers Council, as well as the show's tre- mendous growth over the past few years. Andy Shaughnessy: I'm here at PCB Carolina. Tony, why don't you start and tell us about the RTP Chapter of the IPC Designers Council. Tony Cosentino: I got involved with the Designer Council in 2002. I was on the board of direc- tors for a year, then ran for VP and did that for a year. Then, I took on the president spot. I learned about the mission of the Designers Council from the leaders that came before me. The mission is to network with our industry, promote our business (PCB design) as a pro- fession, and teach people technical skills and share information. We've taken that to heart and offer as many technical opportunities as we can for as little a cost as we can to keep the community engaged. It's all about networking. Shaughnessy: Now, tell us how the RTP chap- ter figures into the launch of PCB Carolina. Cosentino: Around 2000, in the early years of the IPC Designers Council, our local RTP chap- ter put on very small trade shows, about two hours long with maybe eight or 10 vendors, and it was to get PCB design software vendors and manufacturers in front of the Designers Council members, so that they could see new technologies, capabilities, and roadmaps. That grew into something bigger over the years. In 2005, we came up with the idea of growing this into a trade show, and in 2008, we moved into the Raleigh Convention Center. Birds of a Feather: PCB Carolina and the RTP Designers Council Lance Olive Randy Faucette Tony Cosentino