Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1116895
112 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2019 years, and nobody has that here. However, if a particular field has only been open for 10 years and someone has 10 years of experience, then I'd consider them an expert. Matties: And the shift in manufacturing to smart factories and the reduction of operators by law in some regions is playing a big role in China on the economic makeup. Neves: Automation is a natural progression of the increase in the cost of labor that China has been undergoing. For our first 10 years in busi- ness, our cost of labor at the lab increased 15% year on year; now, we're down to 6–8%. It's leveled off, but it's still significant. If I look at the cost of doing business today versus when I started, it's well over double. Matties: But I would think that the jobs you offer at Microtek are more desirable than the traditional manufacturing jobs. Neves: I would like to think so because I value people and the training that I put into employ- ees. Some companies say, "We don't want peo- ple to stay more than a year because we don't want to have to pay them more money. We'll piece our jobs so they're easy to train and I can cycle people in and out." Microtek doesn't do that. I can't hire a kid out of college who will have the knowledge that's gained from running all of the tests that we do because there's just no school for that. We have a training program here and levels of operators and educational courses that we run so that they can earn their way through our system. As they gain more knowledge, they gain more benefits and we provide more incentives to keep them growing and learning more. Our turnover rate here is very low. Matties: It's a specialty job. Neves: Right, and we're very careful who we hire. We want to hire people that intend to stay for a long time. Matties: A career path rather than a stepping stone. Neves: Absolutely. Matties: How many employees do you have? Neves: We just passed 50 people at the end of last year, so we've hit that level where ev- ery company has to create mid-management positions. We've had to restructure things these past few quarters to go to the next level. Growth has been very consistent for us due to all of these changes in transportation and IoT, and those market segments are also expecting huge growth. Matties: You keyed in on it earlier. Your success is really tied to the rate of change that happens here serving a domestic market. And it looks like the change is happening at an accelerated pace on a daily basis. Neves: You can't sustain 15% year on year forever because it's an exponential curve. At some point, to keep a steady rate of growth, you have to reduce your annual percentage, and China is seeing that now. How is that go- ing to work instead of the expectation of a 6% growth, which would be fantastic anywhere in the world, when people are looking at it, say- ing "Meh?" Matties: It barely keeps us moving. But it looks like 5G is going to be a big factor in this for the coming years. Future humidity lab 3.