Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/536970
46 The PCB Magazine • July 2015 Matties: What you're describing is actually be- coming their sales people. You're smart for doing it because you're connecting the two. It lowers their cost of sales. You're giving them access to some OEMs that they may not otherwise have access to. Marsh: I'd say the converse is also very valu- able. A fabricator says to an OEM, "I'd like to recommend this material alternative for these reasons." And then somebody that's never heard of that material might say, "Well, is he telling me that because it's cheaper? Does he have some sitting on the shelf?" When we are there, it im- mediately dissolves the appre- hension when they introduce us as "the guys who make the material." We can talk to both strengths and weaknesses be- cause we're in the entire food chain. We solve problems. Matties: And you are technical. Marsh: We're technical, and by the way we're selling the entire process, so we have that implicit credibility that we, more or less, don't have a dog in the fight. Of course we like to sell the laminate, but we're happy that the board is getting built in North America. We're North America focused. If you're working with a big international manufacturer, it still shows up in their sales numbers whether the work goes to China or Korea or North America. But for us, we really want to keep giving the North Ameri - can fabricator base a competitive edge to keep work in America, drive that technology needle, and leave the other guys catching up. The only way to do that is this ACT type of approach, and I think it's equally important for us when we have a new material and an OEM is very in- terested in bringing the right fabrication part- ners in with them. That's where that synergy happens. Matties: I don't see it as a negative strategy; I think this is really good, because a lot of these fabricators need help in their sales effort, and this strategy makes a lot of sense for everybody involved. Parent: We want to make our customers' sales- people stronger when it comes to the material side of what they have to represent. Nowadays they can't avoid it. They have to be talking about materials. Matties: Eventually, they're not even going to make a sales call without you present. Parent: That's our goal. Matties: I see that. Changing gears a little, we did a survey on supply chain, and one of the big issues that was report- ed time and time again was delivery of product. In partic- ular, laminate material, and for the RF market, it was short supply/big demand. Marsh: Obviously, there were some global drivers around that, with the 4G build out in China, which was kind of coupled with some preferential delivery activity. This sort of un- leveled the playing field, as it were. But in the backdrop of that, you also have this explosion of development and prototype work that feeds the North American PCB market, whether it's IOT activity, or other wireless pro- tocols. You're seeing this huge growth here, and it's fantastically frustrating to have people try- ing to develop next-generation products who don't have access to materials because some deal has been brokered to feed a large build out. One of the advantages that we do communicate on the Isola front is this: Not only do we be- lieve in being able to participate in the RF space with a glass-reinforced product that has some yield and processing benefits, but we can also treat and press in a matter of days, and we can ACCOMPLISH CHANGE TOGETHER (ACT) continues Feature We're technical, and by the way we're selling the entire process, so we have that implicit credibility that we, more or less, don't have a dog in the fight. of course we like to sell the laminate, but we're happy that the board is getting built in north america. We're north america focused. " "