Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1476200
14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2022 rate, so we see that. On the industrial side, there's still a lot of movement for factory auto- mation and equipment purchases. Ryder: at is true. But as the costs increase, we will see reductions in those kinds of things too. Matties: It's a vicious cycle. Ryder: It is, and nobody's immune. Matties: Exactly right. How oen do you look at your pricing strategies? Is this something that you look at, maybe quarterly, because material costs continue to increase? Ryder: Actually, Barry, we look at that every time a new letter comes in from one of our suppliers, and we calculate how that will hit us. If it's something we must act on, then of course we'll make that adjustment right away. But we try to shoulder as much as we can, for as long as we can, until it doesn't make sense any- more. Matties: I've heard of some fabricators absorbing that cost. But ultimately, you will go out of business if you continue doing that. Ryder: I agree, and certainly that's not our desired result. Matties: No, that's not a win. So, with the sup- ply chain shis, we've had reports of larger order sizes coming to small lot manufactur- ers. If they were making a few hundred, now they're making 5,000. Do you see that trend? Ryder: Certainly, we're seeing some of that. I'm not sure exactly what's driving it, but there are several customers that are less likely to go to Asia as quickly as they were a few years ago. Matties: Right. If you can reduce your job num- bers, going to the facility, and maintaining a certain board footage, that has to help in your pricing strategies. Ryder: To some degree, that absolutely is the case, Barry. But we are in a situation where some of the times it's the tooling and the setups of a job where we actually make the money, not so much just processing the laminate. Every job has its own quirks to it. Matties: Are you seeing an increase in redesigns of boards to reduce their material consumption or reduce overall manufactur- ing costs? Ryder: I think we've always seen that. at's not new, but we are seeing redesigns because they can't find a component that they need. When you start getting into RF or microwave, then the material cost is very signifi- cant. ey try to scale back on that as much as they can, but there's only so much you can do if you need a certain type of material. Matties: Are there any particular technologies that will be an advantage? Are fabricators shi- ing the type of work that they're trying to bring in? Beaulieu: No, I don't see that too much. Obvi- ously, some are trying to bring in some of the higher-priced stuff. You're seeing some trend for the RF, the metal-backed boards, the more sophisticated stuff. e other thing I'd like to