Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1193979
30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2019 up in the industry. I graduated in the late '80s from college and started working for the fam- ily business, selling copper-clad laminates, drill bits, etc. After 30 years, we made the bit- tersweet decision to sell the business to one of our supplier partners. I stayed on for three years through the integration and then decided to join Burkle earlier this year. Matties: It's nice that you're moving into a management role, though, because you're managing the health of the business now. Palmer: That's true, but in my role, I'll always be in sales. I've enjoyed working with all the PCB accounts that we have in North America. I've met several of our accounts in solar and woodworking industries as well, and I plan to continue to maintain and develop those rela- tionships in my current role. I still travel and stay involved in the business that way. Matties: Because the technology is one thing, but it comes down to relationships that you have with the marketplace. Palmer: I can take things I learned out in the field and apply it to our business as well, in- ternally. Burkle America is owned by Burkle Germany but operated independently. As an extension of Burkle Germany, we represent the Burkle product line, but then we also have our Schmoll group of products. Schmoll is an extremely important part of Burkle North America. Matties: As I travel to different shops, I see a lot of the Schmoll equipment in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. I have seen a lot of the single-spindle models. What trends do you see around that equip- ment? Palmer: With the Schmoll equipment in North America, it's all about flexibility and the single-spindle equipment that allows customers to drill smaller lots efficiently. The nice thing about the Schmoll product line, in particular, is these single unit drill machines can be added in-line and automated so that you can have what might look like a six spindle drill with six individual units all drilling different jobs at the same time. We also sell many MXY-type machines in North America. An MXY machine may have six tables with two spindles each, but each table is independent so that each of the six panels on the machine can be drilled with different scal- ing; it's highly accurate, productive drilling. Matties: It drives the yields up. As we move into the era of digital manufacturing, we see it on the assembly side. It's happening quicker than on the PCB side. On the PCB side, we see companies like GreenSource Fabrication that are creating a digital factory. You build a digi- tal recipe, and they come out without human intervention. What trends do you see or con- versations do you hear from those who are al- ready in brownfield sites regarding this? Palmer: The biggest challenge is that they're al- ready in the brownfield sites. They don't have the capability to flip the switch and start new. The customers have said, "If we had the abil- ity to start brand new, we could automate like GreenSource. Otherwise, it's one step at a time." And that is a little bit of a challenge because if you can buy all of the equipment at once, you can design it, lay it out, and add Schmoll single-spindle drilling machines in tandem.