Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/609948
40 SMT Magazine • December 2015 able to travel the world, meet interesting peo- ple, and learn so much. I really enjoy interfac- ing with the OEMs because I get to learn what type of technology is coming. Understanding their challenges as technology changes is very interesting. One of the things that has surprised me the most about my job is that as a chemi- cal supplier we are the bottom of the industry, right? It's really the low man on the totem pole and I thought, "These OEMs aren't going to want to talk to me. They're not really going to have time to speak with the chemical suppli- er," but the reception has been overwhelming. They really do want to understand all the steps within the manufacture of their products; they want to understand the supply chain and how the chemicals work. The reception and collabo- ration has been exciting. Goldman: And now with the oems you get a very broad picture and overview, which is excellent. speaking of your customers, who are they? And do you see the oems as your final customers, or do you go beyond working with the oems and bring that information back? Toscano: Basically, I need to understand the en- tire supply chain. So I need to understand what the capabilities are at the fabrication level. I need to understand what's happening at the as- sembly level and then during final build for the OEM. Ultimately, I need to know what the final product will be exposed to, expected end use life, and performance requirements in end use. Really, I'm trying to make the electronics sup- ply chain smaller and bridge communication at all levels. Goldman: When that information you gather comes back, it then gets disseminated to the pcB companies? Toscano: Yes, it gets disseminated to the PCB companies that we work with, and it gets dis- seminated to our researchers, technical teams, and application specialists. Goldman: it makes you quite forward thinking and creates a lot of opportunities for macdermid, right? Toscano: Right, it allows us to be forward think- ing. We know where our strong suits are now, and what's going to be growing in the future. Goldman: You are also presenting a paper this week, correct? Toscano: I will be giving a paper as part of the substrate division on surface roughness. For surface finishing there are a lot of performance characteristics that we're looking for, specifi- cally solderability. In certain instances, tarnish resistance, corrosion resistance, and for the lead-free alternatives, we find that the copper roughness is playing an important role in the end performance, specifically for thin-film de- posits, such as immersion silver, immersion tin and OSP. If the copper coming into the final fin- ish line is very rough or erratic, it can have an effect on its final performance. I'm trying to call lenora Toscano, oEM director, electronics solutions division of MacDermid, Waterbury, Connecticut. oem APPLIcATIonS: mAcDermID'S oem DIrecTor embrAceS reneWeD FocUS FeATure inTerview