Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1473479
52 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2022 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 Jeff De Serrano, president of PCB Technol- ogies U.S. Operations, takes us through some of the struggles of the PCB industry over the past 30 years, how U.S. legislation seeks to level the playing field, and whether a "monop- oly" of fabricators is healthy for our industry. In his chat with Nolan Johnson, Jeff gets out his investment playbook and talks strategy. Don't miss this one. Nolan Johnson: Jeff, you have an interest in get- ting involved with advocacy groups. What's your motivation? As a fabricator, what value do you see in them? Jeff De Serrano: We hope people understand that we're not just a commodity in the United States. When PCB production went over to China, it became a commodity. When I started in this business, it was a unique industry. We built some of the craziest stuff to make the world go around; being an engineer, an EE, I thought it was great. en it switched to a commodity. Aer 2008, finance took over most of the purchasing activ- ities for OEMs, and they'd say, "We're not pay- ing for that. You can buy it over there and it's cheaper." In the United States, we all suffered for a while. With these advocacy groups, I'm hop- ing everyone will realize and understand that it's not a green thing and it's not a commod- ity. When you're 4,000 units a year or 10,000 units a year, it's not a commodity. When you're buying a million a month, that's a commodity. We don't make bread; we make customized specialty items for military war- heads, the communications network infra- structure, 5G, and other strategic applica- tions. e U.S. manufacturing industry is up against a challenge: To make money, you need to be in the advanced technology market, and the equipment investment is very expensive. It's not just a commodity anymore. at's the main thing for me.