Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1080843
36 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 to double our business with this one long-term customer we had. Now, I'm introduced into their customer base. They're a contract manu- facturer. They feel comfortable bringing me in, and in some cases, even getting direct busi- ness from their own customers that they don't have the capabilities to do from an assembly standpoint. They passed those opportunities onto me. Johnson: That certainly creates a certain level of magnetism toward you from the entire cus- tomer supply chain. Antal: That's what I try to do. I've visited cus- tomer sites and all of a sudden you get pulled into a meeting because they're having an issue with a circuit board. I win business that way as well, which is fantastic. I even get a phone call once from the CEO of the company who said, "We have a problem with the board." I thought, "Oh, no." They continued, "It's okay, it's not yours." It goes from one of those dread- ed phone calls to things being fantastic, and then they had an issue where there were some boards in the field failing. I took a couple of sample boards back, had my team diagnose the actual boards and the layout, and they had a solution within five minutes. We won the business, and we still have it to this day. Those things make all the difference, such as the abil- ity to have the resources available to you and knowing when to call them in. As you gain ex- perience through the electronics industry, you learn what your customer is looking for and how to best help them resolve their issues and limit their risk. So, the key points are building relationships with those who are making the purchasing de- cisions of your customers, and providing a val- ue-add for them. Johnson: I think that's true, especially in these times. A relationship and a perfect track record in helping mitigate risk is extremely valuable. Thank you for your time, Wayne. Antal: Thank you. I really appreciate it. PCB007 Donald Monn, Midwest re- gional sales manager for Tai- yo America, turns the tables on I-Connect007 Technical Editor Pete Starkey and quiz- zes him about his knowledge of Taiyo's new crack-resis- tant white solder mask for automotive, and the compa- ny's standard photoimage- ables re-formulated for la- ser direct imaging (LDI) that avoid the need for UL requal- ification. Click on the image to watch the interview. Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2019: Taiyo Discusses New Solder Masks and Photoimageables