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124 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE Shaughnessy: It's almost like what they do in chemistry class at high school. Montesi: Yes. Nitrogen is the primary reason we're at IPC APEX EXPO. Nitrogen is just under 80% of breathing air, so we have a sys- tem that can take that air and turn it into high- purity nitrogen for customers on-site. Shaughnessy: That's cool. What segment are your customers in? Montesi: They're mainly SMT and electronics manufacturers. We are in a variety of industries outside of electronics, but here, any custom- ers that are doing selective solder, wave solder, reflow ovens, and dry boxes all use nitrogen, and they're all potential customers for us. _______________________ Gerry Padnos Juki Automation, Director of Technology Kelly Dack: What are your thoughts on IPC APEX EXPO 2020? Gerry Padnos: This is my 28 th year coming to the show if you count NEPCON West, so I've been here quite a few times, but the traffic is down a little bit from previous years. Some people have a theory that the coronavirus had something to do with it because visitors from Asia may not have been able to come. But overall, it has been a successful show for us. We have mainly seen serious shoppers, not just window shoppers. We have done a lot of good work here, and we have a lot of interest in our products. _______________________ Jignesh Patel RBP Chemical Technology, Technical Service Specialist Kelly Dack: How has the show been for you so far? Jignesh Patel: The show has been great. We had lots of crowds came to our booth, so the traffic was good, and the weather out- side is perfect. As far as trends, I see more equipment on the floor now. This is my first show, though, so I don't know how it has been. I was also able to attend one seminar, which was very informative and helpful. It covered PCB manufacturing with new tech- nologies. _______________________ Scott Pohlmann Milwaukee Electronics, Director of Business Development Kelly Dack: What have you seen that has been interesting at this show? Scott Pohlmann: As a salesman, my job is to make sure I stay on the cutting edge of tech- nology. When our customers ask for certain features that they need on their equipment or performance, I need to know what the state- of-the-art equipment, profiles, and procedures are out there. The SPI process, in particular, is becoming more important. People are realiz- ing how important solder paste deposition is, and looking at that is so much more important than after the oven if you want to get a good paste print. Dack: Are you looking at it with 3D? Pohlmann: Five series 3D, so you're looking at up to five different features, not just if the paste is there, but also if it is the proper vol- ume. Does it match the IPC solder paste stan- dard? All those things help to instill confidence in new customers. _______________________