Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493443
70 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2023 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) is in a unique position as a greenfield captive facility that both fabricates and assembles boards. e approach at SEL is reminiscent of the vertically integrated electronics giants of the past, like Hewlett-Packard, Tektronix, IBM, Zenith, and so many others. Now, as some companies are beginning to dip boards back into hometown tanks, SEL's long-stand- ing commitment to becoming a captive facility has bolstered its position in the market. In this conversation with SEL, we spoke with John Hendrickson, engineering director; Frank Harrill, vice president of security; and Jessi Hall, senior director of vertical engineer- ing. We wanted to learn more about the best practices they developed while specifying, selecting, and preparing to install an entire facility's worth of equipment all at the same time. You just went to the trade show, and you bought new equipment—what comes next in this process? SEL is probably one of the most active purchasers of equipment in North America right now. Walk us through the process you use to identify which equipment fits your specifications. How do you move from deciding what you want to accomplish to determining the specific equipment you need to meet that goal? What are the feature sets in that? How do you build out your integration plan? John Hendrickson: The biggest thing I 've learned on this project is that it's all about Schweitzer: The Captive Partnership