Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/390433
42 SMT Magazine • October 2014 John Dulchinos, Jabil Circuit's vice president of global automation, talks to I-Connect007 edi- tor Richard Ayes about the electronics manufac- turing landscape, the latest trends and develop- ments, the EMS industry's need for manufactur- ing automation, and how the U.S. may become successful in its reshoring activities. Richard Ayes: What can you say about the current state of the electronics manufacturing industry, and what are the opportunities for growth? John Dulchinos: Let me start by saying it is a great time to be in electronics. I think this is a period of unprecedented opportunity, largely driven by the fact that ev- erything's getting smaller and smarter, and that it is so easy today to put elec- tronics into devices that used to be passive. With miniaturization, battery technology getting better, with the low power elec- tronics, wireless communi- cations—all of these things are driving the op- portunity to really go down into a new genera- tion of devices. I am sure you've heard of the Internet of Things (IoT) as a catchphrase, but there is really truth in the fact that everything's going to be connected in the future. Given that, devices that used to be passive are going to be devices now that have some sort of active com- ponents in them. An Interview with Jabil Circuit Inc. Flexible Manufacturing ArTiCLE by richard ayes i-COnnECT007