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30 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2021 printed circuit process engineers were part of the R&D team, and there was a lot of innova- tion and brainstorming that went on. In almost every super successful HP product there was a contribution from the bare board people. We developed a replacement for gold on our own. We developed a way to eliminate the power planes to make fewer layers, land- less vias, and things like that. ere's a whole slew of technologies that came about because the printed circuit board can solve a particu- lar problem that the electrical engineers didn't know could be solved. Matties: It's in that collaboration where you will find, as you were saying, a lot of innovation to percolate over, and HP is certainly a model; but I think you're a modern-day model, if you will, to move into captive. I think this move makes a lot of sense in today's world. Maceri: What's fascinating is that John Hen- drickson, who works for Jessi, has been in our PCB design group for 20 years and what you're saying, Happy, makes me excited to think of all that he can accomplish as the factory manager and having that PCB design in-house. Holden: When you're vertically integrated like that and you have an oeat idea, rather than shoot it down or argue, you can say, "Let's build it, test it, and see. We can make prototypes really quickly and that innovation leads to discov- eries." Johnson: is conversation brings me back to the beginning of our conversation. Part of the motiva- tion for the facility was that your boards weren't all that complex, and your suppliers were tending to move toward a higher complexity sweet spot. What do you see in the future for Schweitzer regarding the kinds of boards you expect to develop? Hall: I don't know for sure. In having our own facilities and really understanding the manu- facturing, I imagine that we will explore more of what we can do. Also, by having other part- ners and learning from equipment suppliers, then we will be able to learn about different technologies that may expand our capabilities. Matties: We've been talking about and shar- ing the concept of captive facilities and co-op shops for some time now, and the COVID pan- demic certainly has interrupted the supply chain for so many that the timing is really good. Did you make this decision during COVID or pre-COVID? Maceri: It's been going on for a couple of years, but the final decision was made during COVID. However, I don't think that played much into it at all. Matties: Well, this is exciting. ere's going to be a lot of attention on your move to captive or vertical integration. Maceri: We do a lot of vertical integration. is isn't new to our company and it's something our founder, Dr. Schweitzer, very much supports and promotes. Jessi manages all our vertical inte- The close proximity of the new fabrication facility to SEL's pre-existing manufacturing sites will increase cross-company collaboration.