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120 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2021 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE So, it was refreshing to hear Alex Stepinski, Diane Maceri, Jessi Hall and Jeff Leblanc talking about a new generation of verti- cal integration in the programme entitled "Managing Challenges in Periods of Transi- tion," smoothly moderated by IPC Hall of Famer Gene Weiner. Alex Stepinski, vice president of Green- Source Fabrication and managing director of AWP Group, is well-known as the pioneering developer of green and automated smart fac- tories for the U.S. market that out-compete low-cost and ecologically unsustainable Asian plants. Latterly, he has led the integration of a PCB fabricator and a PCB equipment supplier into one integrated company that builds and develops smart factory solutions and indus- trialises new process concepts. His case study, "From inventor to contractor in several steps of vertical integration," looked back over the pre- vious eight years and forward into the future. It had been a bold move to start-up a new PCB fabrication plant in the U.S., particularly in addressing the challenge of a "missing gen- eration" of skilled labour resulting from down- sizing of the industry, further exacerbated by the disadvantages of a high-cost region, oner- ous regulations and a reliance on an Asian sup- ply chain. Speaking from a hotel in Poland, with some- what hit-and-miss sound quality, Stepinski reviewed the chronol- ogy of GreenSource from 2013, when design and build started for the Whelen factory, through its initial instal- lation, some remark- able process innova- tions, and the acquisi- tion of its equipment suppliers, to 2020 and a new integrated business plan with PCBs, wastewater recycling, and the supply of turnkey factories. e original Whelen factory represented a $12 million investment and produced around 50 panels per hour of mainly double-sided work, with HASL and ENIG finishes, by a staff of 19. By 2017-18, the capability had evolved to include multiple-build-up HDI, with 15 micron line-and-space and microvia diameters down to 30 microns, industrialising processes such as SAP and selective resistors. Because it had been planned to avoid depen- dence on Chinese suppliers, the equipment for the upgrade was sourced in Germany but when the suppliers ran into financial difficul- ties it was decided to acquire them and to re- engineer their designs to support the Green- Source vision of smart workcells and recycling technology. e resulting equipment division became suppliers of the turnkey projects to Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Vicor Corporation, for whom the value propo- sition included factory design and equipment selection, technical details for permit applica- tions, employee training at the GreenSource factory, equipment manufacture and installa- tion, and commissioning and qualification of the processes. Stepinski listed the many bene- fits of his "Blue Ocean" strategy, which focused on integration of processes for Industry 4.0 in the PCB sector, substantially reduced the envi- ronmental footprint of PCB fabrication, and reduced the dependence on skilled labour for simple issues. A wide range of equipment was currently manufactured at the AWP factory in Poland, then tested and qualified in Charles- town, New Hampshire. He described his patented Zero Liquid Dis- charge (ZLD) recycling technology; in his words "GreenSource uses more water in the bathrooms than in the board shop," the first commercial installations of which would be at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Vicor Corporation in 2021-22. He listed current roadmap projects: a smart Gene Weiner Alex Stepinski