Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1415897
68 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 Johnson: ere's a lot of discussion about be- coming both more nimble and more com- plex in the North American market segment. It seems like you're already well-positioned there. What's your assessment of the market? Everitt: e U.S. supply chain has had a deeply diminished capability in hybrid technologies. If you want to mix microelectronics and SMT to achieve a hybrid manufacturing typology, there are very limited supply chain options in the U.S. for that. Couple that with the U.S. tak- ing a stronger stance on certain technologies that include optics, silicon photonics, artifi- cial intelligence, and RF technologies; many of these technologies are now more closely controlled under current regulation, so it has created this momentum in the high-reliability markets to bring some of that capability back into the U.S. and invest in those capabilities. Johnson: at seems to me like you're going a little bit against the prevailing winds in North America. Everitt: On its face, it may sound that way. I would offer as a hypothesis that many of the U.S. manufacturers have driven manufactur- ing to Asia—and China, in particular—and have broadly lost the ability to innovate. Look at what the DoD is directly in- vesting into companies like In- tel and IBM to build industri- al capacity in advanced micro- electronics. at is very real, happening now, with funding. ere is a reason for that. Certain tech- nologies, as we integrate these technologies together, become controlled, and, as a result, dif- ficult to export. If your only so- lution today is to go to China for certain technologies, you may not have a manufacturing solution to bring your prod- uct to the marketplace. As the Naprotek team looks at both organic and acquisitive growth, we're going to look for those capabilities that add strength in those targeted areas—ad- vanced microelectronics, hybrid manufactur- ing, photonics, and RF technologies—allow- ing us to take our purpose-built model, add that strength of capability, and offer it to the marketplace. Johnson: ere is a lot of U.S. government in- volvement, finding ways to help incentivize and revitalize electronics manufacturing in our industry. But what I'm seeing is that the prima- ry focus is on semiconductors. We need that technology in place. I don't see a lot of PCB money included in those discussions. What's your take on that? Everitt: It is happening, but it's got a bit of a pull function to it. If I'm a chip designer, I'm de- veloping these new products for government, for federal use chip platforms, silicon photon- ics, etc., and that's addressing other bandwidth problems and data rate problems that they're working to address. e next thing you've got to do is figure out how to package it. How do I get that technology to where I can consume it? If I am a U.S. government custom- er and I'm developing a radar or missile system, The manufacturing floor at Naprotek's San Jose, California based headquarters.