Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1379105
56 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2021 buy a lot of boards out of Asia. We do have a lot of leverage; however, because of our busi- ness model, we will have multiple production partners that are subject matter experts for our customers' types of technology. Based on the customer's request, we can communicate with the customer and ask them if they would like us to qualify an additional partner to run those part numbers through. Interestingly, as we have these conversations early on in our quot- ing process, multiple times we will suggest that customers qualify two different partner facto- ries, and we'll provide them samples. We have two super high-tech labs, one in Shenzhen at our office in China, and another lab in our North American headquarters in Indi- anapolis, where I'm sitting today. at allows us to easily qualify multiple sources for a sin- gle part number. Now, we'll generally always settle for one, but God forbid something were to happen—the factory burns down, there's an earthquake, a tsunami, or something—we have access to an additional provider—quali- fied and in place, ready to go—so that our cus- tomers have no shortage in their supply chain; this allows us to help them mitigate that risk. Now, not everybody does that, but it's a def- inite advantage that we bring to the table for those types of situations. Johnson: at is definitely the resilience we need in the supply chain. Harts: It truly is, and obviously I'm biased, but I think if you are sourcing parts in Southeast Asia, ICAPE Group needs to be in the conversation of a supplier partner for companies, certainly domesti- cally in the U.S. ere are so many advantages that we bring to the table, not just in circuit boards, but all our custom-made techni- cal parts are a real asset that can help companies streamline their supply base because of all the dif- ferent types of products that we offer. It allows them to communicate real-time with a country that's half a planet away and 12 hours ahead of us. I don't understand why everybody doesn't use ICAPE Group! Johnson: Does ICAPE Group have more facil- ities available for manufacturing in your net- work than just China? Harts: We are always actively pursuing other sources in emerging markets like Vietnam and Malaysia, but we have vending partners in Tai- wan and South Korea, domestic resources here in America, and we're pursuing partners in Mexico and Canada. Some manufacturers feel it will be more cost-effective and might elim- inate the high price of shipping if they source within North or Central America. Our sourc- ing department does a fantastic job on the road trying to find new partners. It's not easy. We're very, very picky. In the Shenzhen area alone, there are thousands of small factories that manufacture electronics; of those, we have narrowed it down to about 25 PCB suppliers and another 50 for custom- made technical parts, which includes eight electromechanical commodities that coin- cide with what our customers need that are populating circuit boards—things like heat sinks and cables, connectors, batteries, LCD screens, plastic parts, metal parts, and much more. ICAPE Group's partner factory (flying probe testers).