Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1419905
OCTOBER 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 53 big because if you replace an air conditioning unit, we're talking $25,000 to $30,000. Even in a small company you have to plan on prob- ably $40,000 or $50,000 for all that in a given year. Some years you get away with almost nothing and you can spend that money else- where, but other years it's going to be more expensive. Matties: at's the way it goes. What about workflow? How do you utilize that space and change your workflow? Bigelow: e configuration of our building is such that in that particular case, we have a space which is bigger than we need, but there's not much flexibility. In wet processes, we've suc- cessfully moved stuff around based on desired changes, but we're limited because it all has to tie into the waste treatment system. ere are a lot of places with limitations. We have talked from time to time about doing a shuffle in the building and swapping departments around— maybe in a couple years because it requires a lot of planning and staging to be successful. As an example, we've talked about moving inspection into the area with the photoplot- ter that's no longer used, and then taking the current inspection area and making it strictly for electrical test and other processes which are not exclusively part of final inspection. In doing so, we would be able to put a significant cleanroom in one of the areas which we'd like to have. But that requires doing a shutdown when you can actually plan it. At the same time, we would redo the floors, which means you've got to bring somebody in for that. ose become big projects that may not cost a lot of money but are highly disruptive and require signifi- cant planning to pull off. Matties: ere's a big interruption in your daily process. Bigelow: Yes, absolutely. Matties: Good. Peter, is there anything else around CapEx that you feel we should share? Bigelow: I think we've touched on pretty much all of it. Depending upon your size, the business you're in, if you're assembly, fabrication and so on, your challenges are going to be different. I think the thing which is essential is that you keep doing it. You can't say this year that you don't want to do something because the follow- ing year, it will cost you twice as much. Every business has replacements on a regular basis, and you just can't stop because it will cost you the same, but it will be much more difficult to fund it when you have to do all in one year vs. a little bit every year. You're kidding yourself if you think you can cut out capital spending. You need to do it with a discipline that gets you to a long-term goal, which should be success. Matties: Whatever your motivation is, be it cycle time or yield or whatever, stick to your plan. Bigelow: Correct. Matties: Great speaking with you, Peter. ank you for your time. Bigelow: ank you for the opportunity, Barry. PCB007 Some years you get away with almost nothing and you can spend that money elsewhere, but other years it's going to be more expensive.