Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1437606
92 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 should be mindful of ? What should we really be paying attention to, aside from the obvious challenges? Mitchell: If companies can leverage the success they're currently having, not just for 2022, but to set them up for the next decade, that is what I think industry should be thinking about. What are the investments they can make now, while they're flush, that will pay dividends for the long term? at could be in terms of machinery, systems, talent, new customers, or new niches they want to explore. ere are a lot of opportunities. ose companies that will have the brightest future through the ebbs and flows of the industry are the ones that are preparing right now. Matties: at's not typical thinking in U.S. business, though, when you talk about 10 or 20 years out; people typically look at quar- ter to quarter. Mitchell: Yes. As we think about the Factory of the Future, there's such a different perspective when we talk to people in North America vs. Europe vs. Asia. North America thinks, "Why should I do this now? Show me how I'm going to get paid on this right now." European com- panies tend to say, "Of course, we're already doing this." Matties: e smaller the manufacturer, typi- cally the more limited the resources. But oen- times we're talking to a fabricator here that's low volume, quick turn. ey say, "We don't need automation. We just don't need that." Maybe they're right. Maybe they know their business. Mitchell: Maybe, but I also talked to low-vol- ume, quick-turn places that, because of the parts shortage, can't really be quick turn any- more. ey're having to shi their thought pro- cess to more mid-production. Instead of low- volume, it's mid-volume because they've got to do other things with the parts that they have available. Maybe they were doing things for 12 and now they need to do 100 to 1,000 times that. Matties: Exactly. It's not about the quick turn. Mitchell: It's about, "e stuff needs to work, and I need it in these quantities." ose are some of the things I think people need to be mindful of. Even the smaller companies you mentioned may not have the resources to go aer this. But that's where things like imple- mentation of CFX will help. ere are ways to retrofit existing machinery. You can send and utilize CFX messages and work with your larger suppliers and customers that are already using those systems without having to buy brand-new equipment everywhere all at once. Matties: Part of the problem is that's a job function—chief process improvement man- ager—that most companies don't have a dedi- cated person for. A chief process improvement