IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1546580
8 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2026 I've spent a good deal of time in Asia over the years, both traveling and living there, so arriving in Thailand for THECA wasn't my first experience stepping into another culture or another way of doing business. Still, there is something about being there—moving through a different city, sitting down with people, listening to their conversations, and watching how they approach familiar challenges— that gets me thinking. Then I come home. I return to my own routines, my own desk, and the people and places I know well. But every time I travel internationally, I return seeing things a little differently. It has a way of reminding me that the way something is done in my corner of the world isn't necessarily the only way, or even always the best way. Sometimes you need to get outside your own space to see that. (Be sure to read Stephen Chavez's article in this issue about how working with a global team taught him some valuable communication skills.) I've been thinking about this new perspective as we've put together this month's issue, because we're taking you outside some familiar spaces, too. In particular, we're looking to Europe, where PCB designers in Italy, France, Germany, and elsewhere are dealing with many of the same challenges BY M A RCY L A RO N T, I - C O N N ECT 0 07 A World of Difference M A RCY 'S M U S I N G S