Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1357726
32 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2021 gration, and that includes plastic injection mold- ing. We do our own transformers, and we have some sheet metal fabrication and machining. Matties: So, when you think of vertical inte- gration, do you look at every last little nut and bolt, or how do you weigh what's inside and what's outside? Hall: at's a fun part of the team I lead, which is pretty cool. We look at a wide variety of things: What does the supply chain look like? Is there risk there? Can we find a supplier partner whose strategy matches our own and can meet the vol- umes that we need? As I mentioned earlier, we do want to manufacture in the U.S., so if there's not an option for that, then that's certainly a con- sideration. Is that part a critical component that needs some amount of customization? All these things are factors. en, of course, do we already have something that's somewhat complemen- tary? at makes the decision even easier. Matties: Right. Now, when you look at supply chain, what risks do you evaluate? Do you have to have a second source, that sort of thing? Maceri: Not necessarily. We build strong part- nerships that are like family. If we have one sup- plier partner for a part category, however that partner has a good risk mitigation strategy—or it may be some vertical integration, so it's not necessarily dual sourcing, but something like geopolitical risk. We buy a lot of UL-certified components, which adds a layer of complex- ity to things. To move quickly, you have to go through the whole UL approval process, so it's really just the strength of the partners. For us, we're always growing; we have doubled in size every five years. Matties: Wow. Maceri: With that comes a constant scrutiny: do we have enough capacity? at's just part of the risk in what we're doing. Matties: Are your boards built in China or are they all U.S.? Maceri: All U.S. ey are a critical component and we put a lot into that. We don't want our IP to get out. Matties: At what point in your journey did you find GreenSource? Maceri: As we were looking at all these differ- ent options, someone said, "You know what? You really need to meet Alex Stepinski because he did this, and they have a lower complexity board and built an automated factory to build it." He was referring to Whelen [Engineering in Connecticut], whom we didn't know, so we reached out, and made the connection. Jessi and I went there and met him along with one of our executive team members, and John Hen- drickson. Right away, we understood this was different from anything we had seen before. Matties: Absolutely different. So, you were already in the mindset of bringing PCB fabri- cation back in-house? Maceri: We were; that was one of the paths we were looking at when we met Alex. Matties: Yes, and with his package of zero waste and low labor costs, it sure makes a lot of sense for companies like yours. I think we've covered a lot here. ank you so much. SMT007 SEL's Lewiston, Idaho, facility.