30 The PCB Design Magazine • March 2015
PCB007
News Highlights
Exception PCB Names Martin
Managing Director
Frederick Martin has been appointed as man-
aging director for Exception PCB Solutions and
brings a wealth of experience. Frederick will join
Clive Wall and Rob Buswell in the Senior Man-
agement Team. The senior management are a
highly experienced and results driven team that
has the proven capability to implement Fast-
prints' European strategy and leverage the busi-
ness's undoubted potential.
2015 EIPC Winter Conference, Munich:
Day 1 Review
Ninety delegates, eleven countries represented and a
thought-provoking two-day programme on themes
of reliability in PCB fabrication and assembly, copper
cleaning and advanced material solutions, advanced
imaging and soldermask, and how to make PCBs
smart and ready for Industry 4.0. Add the further at
-
tractions of a keynote by Walt Custer and the chance
to visit a military aircraft assembly plant: the formula
for another highly successful EIPC Conference—this
time close to Munich Airport.
Schweizer Electronic Concludes
FY2014 with Sales Growth
Dr. Maren Schweizer, CEO of Schweizer Electronic
AG comments: "We proceeded very well in 2014 on
operational as well as strategic levels. We increased
turnover and earnings, and our order book is well
stocked. Thanks to the continuously high demand
our order backlog increased again in 2014, amount
-
ing to 119.2 million euro against 114.2 million euro
the year before.
PCi Upgrades Imaging Department
with New Equipment
Rigid-flex circuit board manufacturer, Printed Cir-
cuits Inc. has recently installed a Maskless Lithogra-
phy printer and an Orbotech Paragon 9800 laser-
direct imager at their facility based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
DSG Invests in the Future
Mauro Dallora, COO of Dongguan Somacis Graphic
PCB Co. Ltd (DSG), shares how they have increased
revenue and their plans to double it.
California Congressman Mike Honda
Discusses American Manufacturing
Barry Matties, publisher of I-Connect007, sat down
with Congressman Honda, who represents Dis-
trict 17 in the Silicon Valley, to talk about Ameri-
can manufacturing, infrastructure, education and
some of the current thinking in America. According
to Honda, "The policies we pass and the things we
do in D.C. that negatively impact our economy...a
lot of those guys who don't support some of the
positive things we want to see happen don't really
understand that it impacts their districts, their social
services, health and business."
MacDermid's Cullen Reflects on
20 Years in China
Recently, while in Shenzhen, China, Barry Matties
had the chance to catch up with Don Cullen, the
global marketing director at MacDermid Electronics
Solutions. They sat down to discuss the many chang
-
es he's seen in China since his first visit there nearly
20 years ago, and the country's future.
Viasystems Reports Solid Q4 2014 Results
‟The settlement of our business interruption insur-
ance claim certainly helped our reported profit for
the period," noted David M. Sindelar, chief execu-
tive officer of Viasystems, "but even without that fa-
vorable impact, we had a solid quarter, growing net
sales both sequentially and year-over-year."
N.A. PCB Business Growth Flat in 2014
"PCB business in North America was virtually flat
in 2014 compared to the previous year," said IPC's
Sharon Starr. "Sales ended the year less than one
percentage point below 2013, while orders finished
the year just 0.6% above 2013. Strong orders in the
fourth quarter have kept the book-to-bill ratio sol
-
idly in positive territory, which bodes well for sales
growth in 2015."
China Outlook: An Interview with Hamed El-
Abd, Lionel Fullwood, and Gene Weiner of
WKK
Barry Matties spoke with WKK's Hamed El-Abd, Lio
-
nel Fullwood, and Gene Weiner on their outlook on
PCB manufacturing in China, as well as on what it
takes to stay competitive in this market.
30 The PCB Design Magazine • March 2015
