Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1156271
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2019 Matties: When you talk about the roll-to-roll pro- cess, how big is that? Is there a growing demand for that now? Lies: More and more. We don't make the roll-to-roll, but we work with people who do and integrate it into our equipment for their spe- cific manufacturing process. Matties: The processing por- tion. Lies: Right. Matties: Are you seeing a higher demand for automation in North Amer- ica? I know we're still talking low-volume, quick-turn, but it seems like there's something there. Lies: I don't know if it's really automation. It has been more about the data gathering to con- trol the processes, looking at it on a continu- ous basis, and making changes. Matties: What about data gathering for legacy equipment? Is there a strategy to help custom- ers retrofit? Lies: At times. Truthfully, not a whole lot, as it is an expensive retrofit after the fact. Chemcut is highly backward integrated. A lot of the parts that you see on a piece of Chemcut equipment are made at our company. When you need to re - place a part 30 years from now, we have our own molds that we make ourselves, and we've been able to supply parts that are over 50 years old. Matties: We also talked a little bit about a boom in equipment sales earlier, and a lot of that was probably tied to the tax relief on the appreciation. Lies: A portion of it is tied to tax relief, especial- ly for the people who haven't re-tooled since the early 2000s. So, there's the portion of people who sat on their money, and now they've re-tooled, but a lot of our growth is in new mar - ket areas. Over the past two years, a good portion of our growth has been in North America. Part of it has been re-tooling, but we have also seen new technologies and customers becoming a large portion of our growth. Matties: When people come back and buy new equip- ment now, what do they look for? Has their equip- ment worn out, or are they looking for upgrading capabilities? Lies: It's a mixture. Some people don't want to change what they already have, and we can provide them that, but then they might want better control of their conveyor system, which we now have at the lower speed end, especial- ly when it comes to reel-to-reel applications. Others might want better etching capability. Matties: Along the way, it's still pumps and nozzles. What about the green movement? We're hearing a lot of zero-discharge conver- sations. Lies: We've been involved with "zero-dis- charge" processes for our equipment for sev- eral years. How long have people doing zero discharge with our equipment, etc., Jerry? Jerry Reitz: It has been nine or 10 years. Lies: It's not necessarily new technology; it's out there, but it's about how to integrate it into your particular process. Matties: It's about how you adopt it. What does it take for them to adopt it, and what's the ad- vantage, other than not having to deal with the waste? Is there a financial gain as well? Jerry Reitz