Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1530610
14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2024 It really depends on the geographical area. In Asia, it's a no-brainer; they don't want to use any pin lam. ey've leapfrogged the whole pin lam process and gone to pinless with our system. at's where the bulk of our sales used to be. It was also more accepted in Europe than in the United States, likely because there are many good high-tech shops in the U.S. that have invested a lot of money in their tooling. ey know how to make the panels and work well within their systems. eir yields are okay, but now they can't get any tighter, and that's a roadblock. It's like they have a steam locomo- tive fine-tuned to run near perfectly and you can't take it further than that. Based on that recognition, most of our sales over the past few years have been in the U.S. ose tolerances of the lamination plates, pins, and bushings are still there, but the laying up on pins is worse because the layers are so much thinner. It is much easier to damage the cores. So, a lot of the shops are recognizing that they must get away from that, which is bearing out on our sales. How has government legislation, like the U.S. CHIPS Act and other advocacy efforts, been helpful? It will be a while before it trickles down to us as an equipment manufacturer for PCBs, but it's moving in a positive direction, and that's impor- tant. We're a member of PCBAA, and I strongly believe it will help the U.S. in the long term. Overall, I have a good feeling about it, or I wouldn't have invested in our new, bigger facil- ity and hired more people. I'm thinking posi- tively, and I believe business will continue in that direction. What's your philosophy on recruiting and retaining today's workforce? Do you see a young generation of leaders? It has been tough to hire engineers. I mostly hire either mechanical or electrical engineers, and technicians who build and assemble our machines. It's very high-tech, especially when working with robots. I have several young peo- ple on staff, and they love working with those big robots. To them, it's exciting and fun. As far as leadership, I never prevent any employee from trying or doing something new. ey may develop a great new idea, and I want to foster that creativity and enthusiasm. I believe in fail-fast ideas in support of creativity and innovation. I want them to try things. Let's give it a shot, but let's also make sure we learn something from it. If it works, that's fantastic. If it doesn't work, let's learn why it didn't work. Going forward, this helps them to design bet- ter products. That's a huge commentary on your leader- ship and company culture. Tony, it is always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you for your time and valuable insights. ank you, Marcy. PCB007