Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1443477
68 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2022 the Technion) and has professional experience from great companies such as HP, Stratasys, Orbotech, Elbit, and McKinsey. We are thor- ough, flexible, and customer focused. We have the backing of industry majors: ASM Pacific Technology is a leading electron- ics equipment manufacturer; Henkel is a lead- ing electronics materials manufacturer; this is a perfect strategic combination. Beaulieu: Where is the company positioned in the marketplace? Birnbaum: For semiconductor packaging, on the innovation frontier. High end, as well as high mix, low- to medium-volume, and a clear innovation driver. Beaulieu: Where do you see your company in three to five years? Birnbaum: I think our customers will be chang- ing the way mid- to high-end PCBs are man- ufactured. We will continue to develop appli- cations for the electronics industry in PCB, IC substrates, SMT, and semiconductor packag- ing. By then, our technology will enable fast innovation in many industries. Our customers will spearhead supporting IoT, Industry 4.0, and 5G developments. Five years from now, we may branch out into other manufactur- ing industries where our technology is needed to move to the next level, such as aerospace, medical/dental, automotive, etc. Beaulieu: How about new product develop- ment? Birnbaum: We will continue rolling out applica- tions as we optimize the printer in other areas. We can already print multi-layered HDI PCBs, and we will continue to optimize it for com- mercial release. In parallel, we also have addi- tional complementing technologies, already patented, that will be added to our initial prod- uct lines as well as into new products. Beaulieu: How do you see the industry doing now that we are nearly post-COVID? We sincerely hope that we will see a speedy global recovery trend. But likely, the world will have to adapt to living alongside COVID. Our technology will help companies manufac- ture onshore and inhouse, avoiding disrupted supply chains as were apparent during the epi- demic. Beaulieu: Ralph, do you have any final thoughts? Birnbaum: Our customers and partners keep on bringing new applications. We do our best to accommodate those requests within the framework of our current capabilities. CLAD is an extremely innovative technology, with a very wide scope and appeal. Beaulieu: ank you Ralph, that was very inter- esting and informative as well. I wish you and ioTech the best of luck in the years to come. Birnbaum: My pleasure Dan, thank you for pro- viding us with this opportunity. PCB007 Figure 3: The IO-300, ioTech's additive manufacturing 3D printer.