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8 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2017 SMTA Atlanta is always a treat. This tabletop show in Duluth, Georgia, draws most of the PCB community in Atlanta, and exhibitors from all over the country. These shows are cheap for ex- hibitors; one good lead more than pays for your exhibit space, and you get to enjoy my neigh- bors' Southern hospitality along the way. The show had a pretty decent turnout, de- spite the extra traffic headaches caused by the "accidental" torching and collapse of part of I-85 last month, which forces motorists onto I-285 and surrounding arteries. (How does a highway burn in the first place?) The exhibitors were all upbeat, many re- porting a better-than-average Q1. One sales manager for a fabricator joked that the compa- ny had so many orders that he needed to take a vacation so they could catch up. Of course, he was hitting up potential customers the next day. Many exhibitors said they were hiring. One capital equipment rep said the firm is constantly searching for new technicians to install and set up their machines. Talk about a small universe: How many people in North America know how to calibrate a pick-and-place machine? But the highlight of SMTA Atlanta is al- ways the Industry Roundtable. Norcross design bureau owner Albert Gaines once likened the roundtable to a "psychiatrist's couch for PCB designers." This year's roundtable attracted about a dozen designers, electrical engineers by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 The "Help Wanted" Issue THE SHAUGHNESSY REPORT