Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1379105
60 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2021 automotive manufacturer reach out to us pre- pandemic and his main concern was, "I have people over there. My question is, "Are they just telling me what I want to hear or are they telling me the truth?" Johnson: Have they "gone native" so to speak? Harts: It's hard to believe that wouldn't hap- pen eventually, so we are constantly rotating our peo- ple in and out of factories to eliminate that possibil- ity. We don't want them to spend eight hours a day, five days a week with the same people and then develop that sort of friendship where they don't want to get their friend in trou- ble. We have a rotation to ensure that doesn't hap- pen. And I'm not saying it would happen to every OEM, but it's a possibility and I don't know how a com- pany would monitor that or quantify that. It would be a difficult task to undertake on a regular basis. Johnson: e expense there is not in the direct costs, but rather what happens through- out the rest of the life cycle of your product. Harts: Absolutely. When you start seeing quality concerns, that is when you can quantify it quickly; the cost of a recall gets really expensive. Johnson: Roger, just one last question: Once key popula- tions reach COVID herd immu- nity, do you see us returning to the old ways? Harts: I certainly hope so. I don't think it will go back 100% to the old ways. As I mentioned earlier, we do business in 70 countries across the world, but a key strategy for ICAPE Group is to have a local presence where our custom- ers are. We want to meet people face to face, have lunch, coffee, buy donuts, whatever it is. In-house PCB laboratory. Leading-edge equipment to ensure IPC compliance.