Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1228683
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2020 Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team Members of the I-Connect007 editorial team met with Andy Kadah, president of ICM Con- trols, and Kevin Jobsky, senior marketing man- ager, via teleconference on March 20, 2020. Originally, the purpose of our conversation was to discuss factory automation implemen- tation details. Yet, we conducted the interview in the midst of a rapid-fire and wide-ranging onslaught of executive orders from the federal level on down to the local level meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As we navigated the setup and capture of this interview, New York State-level mandates were being announced, shifting the target for the ICM Controls management team on an hour-by-hour basis. One can sense the can-do attitude and urgency to respond to these shift- ing requirements in the interview transcript. Although it was impossible not to intermin- gle the two topics—automation and respons- es to the COVID-19 outbreak—as a whole, this discussion sheds light on the qualitative changes that factory automation can bring to one's business methods. We pick up the inter- view a few minutes in. Nolan Johnson: Let me introduce you to Hap- py Holden, who is one of our consulting tech- nical editors. He is an industry luminary and a pioneer of HDI manufacturing techniques. Happy spearheaded much of the industry, in- cluding a lot of techniques related to smart or automated factories. Happy, before this inter- view started, we talked about roll-your-own equipment. Andy Kadah: It's great to meet you. We're crazy engineers here, who also happen to build what we design. We built all the production bench- Automation War Stories From ICM Controls