Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/819981
68 The PCB Magazine • May 2017 by Patty Goldman I-CONNECT007 At a recent SMTA Expo, I met with Matt Hammesfahr, a salesperson with Amitron. Matt is young, by our industry standards—in his mid- twenties. Just a few years out of college, Matt holds a business degree and is already a top salesman with the company. Here's one of those twenty-somethings we keep saying we want to attract to our industry. How did this happen? I had to get the story. Patty Goldman: Matt, you are 26 years old, you have a business degree, and you're in sales with Amitron—your first job out of college—and doing very well. How long you been with Amitron? Matt Hammesfahr: About three years now. Goldman: What brought you into this industry? Hammesfahr: I needed a job out of college. That is always good motivation. There seemed to be a lot of companies in the area and I always wanted to be in sales so I called them, and they called me back. Goldman: So you reached out and then fell into circuit boards? Hammesfahr: Yes. It was tough starting out in this industry, because nobody really likes to switch their circuit board manufacturer, which I can un- derstand now that I'm a part of it. There's a lot of work involved. I stuck with it, and after a good seven months or so I really started to catch on. It took a lot of hard work, though—calling and try- ing to get in front of customers. Goldman: Have you learned much about the cir- cuit board business in this time? Hammesfahr: Oh yes. I had a little bit of knowl- edge going into it. I knew how a circuit board was made, the printing and etching part. When I was going through the interview and they were pointing out processes, I knew what they were talking about and let them know that. When you go to an interview, you always want to have FEATURE INTERVIEW