Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1411055
32 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 stalling the roof in December. We expect to start moving in equipment in June 2022, and run our first production PCBs in January 2023. As the SEL property team is constructing the facility, our manufacturing team is continuing to learn about PCB manufacturing and devel- oping plans for the factory processes, equip- ment, chemistry, and factory layout. While SEL is new to manufacturing PCBs, we have more than 35 years of experience in manufacturing. In addition to assembling our own PCBs and building completed units, we also manufacture many of the critical compo- nents used in our products and solutions, such as transformers and plastics. We are leaning on this experience to guide us through the multi- tude of decisions required for this greenfield build and for the PCB building process, and are following the same philosophy and prior- ities we embrace throughout our manufactur- ing division: Don't make process optimization the sole focus, instead prioritize—safety, qual- ity, and lead time, in that order. Making Process Decisions in a Greenfield Feature Article by Jessi Hall SCHWEITZER ENGINEERING LABORATORIES is spring, Schweitzer Engineering Labora- tories (SEL) broke ground on a 160,000 square foot printed circuit board (PCB) manufactur- ing facility in Moscow, Idaho. e project is es- pecially exciting because we started, quite lit- erally, with a green field that sits on 150 acres in one of the most productive agricultural re- gions in the world—the Palouse. e facility is being designed specifical- ly for the high volume, low complexity mix of boards that go into SEL products, which pro- tect, monitor, and control electric power grids and systems around the world. It is also being designed to be one of the cleanest PCB facto- ries in the world. Currently the SEL property team is hard at work on the construction of the building. Foot- ings are complete, and the floor is in process of being poured. Our next major milestone is tipping up walls in September, followed by in-