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90 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2025 old Dynachem days. Under Gene's tutelage, we became deeply involved in IPC and were even- tually honored with the Hall of Fame award. Walt Custer has a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson Univer- sity and a master of science degree in physical chemistry from Purdue University. His indus- try experience is long and varied. He was a board director of Coretec, Inc. Canada's larg- est PCB manufacturer, from 2000 until 2010, when it was acquired by DDi. He was also a director and actively involved in EIPC, the European PCB trade organization. Prior to forming his own market research and industry news company, he was vice pres- ident of marketing and sales for Morton Elec- tronic Materials (Dynachem), where we met. Dynachem was a global supplier of specialty chemicals and process equipment for the PCB fabrication industry. Aer the acquisition of Morton/Dynachem by Rohm and Haas and then Dow, Walt retired from the company but continued his interest and involvement in the electronics industry through his focus on research, business analysis, and market fore- casting. He founded Custer Consulting Group with his son, Jon, to supply industry news and market data to an international customer base. Jon continues to run the business today. An IPC member for 40 years, from 1978 until his industr y retirement in 2018, Walt was an early member of the IPC Technology Marketing Research Council (TMRC), where he was chair of the data collection commit- tee and a participant in the World Market Sta- tistical Program. He has also been vice-chair of the TMRC Steering Committee and chair of the IPC Printed Circuits Expo trade show committee. Walt received the IPC's President's Award in 1992 and the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award in 2001. He was also voted "one of the 10 Most Influential Persons in the PCB industry" in 2000 by PC Fab Magazine and Atomic29's global ballot. A frequent speaker at industry events, Walt authored regular magazine and website arti- cles, including a weekly "Market Outlook" Jon Custer Walt Custer