Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1330321
JANUARY 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 21 to something different. Suddenly they can look through a different lens, applying new and old knowl- edge to continue to advance pro- cesses while deeply understanding processes up and downstream. We have a goal that a process engineer will not stay in that process area for more than three to five years, and then we're going to step to the right or step to the left. The idea is that we're constantly challenging their notion of process engineering and process management. Johnson: Have you seen measur- able results from that approach? LaBeau: It has been quite effective. First, it's just using a new lens in a different department. For example, Audra has been really effective in our solder mask and surface finish depart- ment peeling back the layers of the problem and developing more systemic, smart solutions for advancing processing and board technolo- gy. The other engineers that pivoted have been able to draw on a wealth of knowledge to inno- vate in these new departments, often reducing scrap and bringing in new technologies quick- ly and effectively. While there will always be stumbling blocks, the next generation is ready to take on the in- novation that's needed in the domestic PCB in- dustry. The constant evolution, teamwork, and opportunity to innovate has developed much stronger problem-solvers because they're not doing it every single day; they can look outside the box to provide the next solution. The results are measurable with some of the best solutions yet to come. We believe it takes maybe two years for someone new in the building to start understanding the printed cir- cuit board engineering and manufacturing pro- cess; we're still in that discovery phase. Johnson: Human behavior is that we do things that get us a reward. How does the Calumet company culture reward or give recognition for that sort of innovation? Brassard: Let's not forget that domestic circuit board manufacturers took crippling damage from 2001 to 2018. The telecoms crash, hous- ing market crash, and the true killer of our industry—rampant offshoring of circuit board manufacturing by U.S. OEMs to low-cost re- gions, such as Asia. First pushing manufac- turing, then supply chain, then R&D offshore, until the U.S. industry was characterized as "dying on the vine" in an early 2018 report by the Department of Commerce and "aging, constricting, and failing to maintain the state of the art" in a report to the executive branch later that same year. Throughout this period, U.S. cir- cuit board manufacturers struggled to survive— let alone invest in—the future to maintain state- of-the-art capabilities and wage stagnation cer- tainly turned-off workforce interest in careers in electronics manufacturing across the nation. Regardless of the driving forces behind the renewal of U.S. electronics manufacturing, it's easy to understand how the most immediate reward for a manufacturing company and its workforce is to simply be once again making forward progress after a two-decade drought. Progress with investment in workforce and equipment, and to be meaningful and relevant in the marketplace, with people solving prob- lems for customers with interest in U.S. manu- facturing, regardless of their motivations. Calumet demonstrated resiliency through these difficult times bolstered by OEMs and The Benmayor Technosystem Unloader with Fanuc Arm.