Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1419905
14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 Patel: We have two more pieces of equipment to buy by next year that we believe will put us in the upper echelon of North American board manufacturing. We're going to keep going as much as we can on the investment side. is seems like the perfect time to catch the wind. Matties: With this new equipment, what met- rics will you use to validate the investment? For example, you mentioned induction, that's an easy one; but how do you put that together? Patel: For induction, we can measure the energy usage and the like, and we're always looking at the yield and the pass/fail percentage. It's all tracked with the soware. We expect our new equipment will drive total cost savings of about $150,000 and improve our gross margins from 22.6% in FY2018 to 27% in 2021. Matties: I would think that when you're sim- plifying processes, you're reducing cycle time. You probably see work coming through your facility faster and more efficiently, with higher yields, lower cost, less scrap. How do you establish metrics at the beginning when you're deciding to purchase that equipment? Patel: We know what the process already is. But what is it going to do differently if we do pur- chase the equipment, and what materials sav- ings are there? What's the energy difference? We did a whole calculation on energy savings for the induction press. It's significant. Matties: And when you're looking at the equip- ment investment, do you have a threshold of improvement that it must meet before you would invest the dollars? Patel: In this case, it seemed like a no-brainer based on what improvements they're going to bring. In the future, it will be more of a techno- logical unlocking, I suppose, rather than a pro- cess of elimination. Johnson: While it sounds like you get process improvement out of it, I'm hearing that the expanded capabilities portfolio helped you bring in more business. In other words, one can spend capital to save money and increase your margins, or to get more top line revenue. Patel: Right. With the new equipment, we expect operational cost savings alone of $50,000—the value of about 3,000 labor hours redirected through more efficient processes. For example, with the bonding machine that we had, the process would take two people, and they're punching and bonding on two dif- ferent pieces of equipment, and it was a 15- to 20-minute cycle. Now, it's down to five min- utes, one person, and automated tolerance. e numbers are there, but it was just some- thing we had to do to get to the next level. Johnson: I'm sure you're getting better quality out of that step too. Patel: And the registration is just phenomenal, comparatively. Matties: How involved is your sales and mar- keting team in your capital expenditure? Patel: Sales always knows what technology customers are, whether we're missing out on opportunities because we're just not capable of With the new equipment, we expect operational cost savings alone of $50,000— the value of about 3,000 labor hours redirected through more efficient processes.