Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1538540
AUGUST 2025 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 45 Barry Matties: Justin and Collin, it's nice to meet you. Collin, what does it mean to be a supplier to SEL? Collin Peters: SEL is a standalone in this business because of the expectation that their relation- ship with their vendors will be different from the one their vendors have with their other customers. From the procurement side, they are very proud of that. It's not necessarily a challenge for vendors, but rather that there are alternative ways of doing business, maybe a way that better suits one com- pany and one philosophy. At MKS in the Atotech Group, we strive to be flexible, giving the customer the experience and the relationship they need. The Uniplate PLBCu6 line is part of that. A lot of industry knowledge and experience went into the design and engineering of that line. We worked closely with the SEL engineers to design the touchpoints they needed to meet their unique requirements and expectations and directly address what's important for SEL, such as zero liq- uid discharge (ZLD). That is important to SEL, and they are very proud of it. We worked in tandem with them to achieve ZLD, which, in this case, was the cascade rinsing down to the concentrated rinse. What is it like for SEL to have a partner that takes these steps and works so closely with them? Justin Kennedy: One of the benefits is their years of experience. I found it interesting that since MKS' Atotech is based in Europe, it has kept a lot of con- solidated world knowledge in Europe. Because so much of the industry has been removed from America for the past 25 years, we are challenged by a gap in knowledge. We knew that with a global partner like MKS' Atotech, we could leverage their worldwide experience. One of the best things is their education cata- log. We leveraged MKS' Atotech's technology and used its educational videos to become proficient more quickly. Their American representatives were good at making sure we focused on becoming educated on the line itself. That made the transi- tion to taking ownership and running that line a lot easier, as was intended. Kudos to them for that. We used their educational resources to train our staff engineers up to a certain level of proficiency. It was almost like going to school. Now, we have Plating 101 through Plating 401. Having that educa- tion available has been helpful. They're also very open to us visiting them and getting trained, even going to Berlin and seeing their department there. Overall, it was one of the critical successes with MKS' Atotech, and I appre- ciate that. At roughly 300 feet, I believe this is one of the longest footprints in operation in the U.S. Tra- ditionally, how many people would be running a line like this? Also, typically, you would have tanks or other bits of equipment in addition to this line, and that is unnecessary with this setup. You've eliminated those processes. Kennedy: Yeah, we approached it with the mindset that automation would lessen the number of peo- ple needed. When I compare with other PCB fac- tories, their setup is a little bit more piecemeal. I'll see groups of seven people on a shift on the vari- ous plating lines that other factories might have. I still see tanks in some places with people using hoists to move the panels around. Peters: Yes, that's old school. Comparing the fully manual process to an auto- matic, inline, continu- ous process is a big savings. There's also the oppor- tunity to have less physical handling of the boards, which is a significant quality benefit. Full-time employee reduc- tion is possible com- pared to a fully manual- Justin Kenne dy One of the best things is their education catalog. We leveraged MKS' Atotech's technology and used its educational videos to become proficient more quickly. " "