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December 2015 • SMT Magazine 29 Q: What resources are most important to your members? A: Our members are forward thinkers. They ex- pect resources that will teach them current prac- tices while preparing them for future needs. Our members depend and rely on standards, educa- tion, advocacy, and solutions. As such, they find value in our standards documents, certification and training materials, and GR advocacy efforts. We produce regular market research reports that highlight industry trends, and partner these re- ports with progressive educational opportuni- ties. On top of that, our members enjoy learning breaking industry news through our newsletter, IPC Global Insight. All of this culminates at IPC APEX EXPO. Our members understand the importance of the education and experience provided both on the show floor and in the technical conferences. Q: how do you satisfy members' need for technical information, and in what format? A: IPC members have many tools at their dis - posal to satisfy their need for technical informa- tion. Aside from standards, IPC training and cer- tification is available to teach practical industry knowledge, as well as advanced topics. IPC also provides market research which analyzes industry data to provide accurate information on current trends and future needs. There are a number of webinars and newsletters which tackle a variety of issues. Beyond that, we also have TECHNET, a question and answer forum where members can ask IPC staff and their industry peers a technical question any day of the week, and get an answer 24/7. We strive to provide the best member ex - perience, and providing technical information is one of the many ways we do so. Q: What are some of ipc's success stories in the industry? A: In recent years, IPC has had a number of big wins for the industry. To start, we keep current with all industry trends to update our standards to match pressing needs, including recent updates to several of our most popular standards J-STD- 001F, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies and IPC-A-610F, Acceptabil- ity of Electronic Assemblies. Doing this requires a constant focus on industry requests, and an un- bridled concentration on manufacturing demand. For example, IPC was successful in our efforts to defeat the proposed restriction of additional substances under the RoHS revision in 2011. In 2012, IPC advocated for many provisions that were eventually included within the final SEC regulation on conflict minerals. Last year, IPC led industry efforts to pass the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation (RAMI) Act— the legislation that established the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). Many of these efforts help reduce additional cost bur - den to the industry or provide opportunities for growth in advanced manufacturing. Q: What technologies do you consider the most important for the future? A: The industry continues to evolve. Each day brings new challenges and new solutions that push the boundaries of current technologies. Specifically, the increased use of flexible printed board technology has been a hot topic of inter - est. Additionally, incorporating lead-free assem- bly processing into aerospace and defense seg- ments of the industry has been an ongoing issue that IPC is working on with its PERM Council to solve the technology issues. But, as these topics become more prevalent, IPC will work to iden- tify emerging technologies that will impact the industry and bring the latest technology experts into our events and educational programs. FeATure inTerview IPc: connecTInG eLecTronIcS InDUSTrIeS