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88 SMT Magazine • July 2017 by Stephen Las Marias I-CONNECT007 Michigan-based EMS firm Saline Lectron- ics counts the military and aerospace industries among its key markets. The company provides PCB assembly, SMT, testing and inspection, and electromechanical box build services, and is cer- tified to AS9100 and ITAR registered to guaran- tee customers that their products are manufac- tured with the most rigorous quality standards. For this month's issue of SMT Magazine, Da- vina McDonnell, director of marketing, discuss- es the latest technology and business trends driving the military and aerospace industries, the challenges in these markets—including supply chain issues such as obsolete parts and counterfeit components—and their strategies to stay ahead of the competition. Las Marias: From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges when it comes to elec- tronics assembly for the military and aerospace markets? Davina McDonnell: The biggest challenge for many of our military/aerospace clients is mak- ing sure that we can get the required material in-house within a timely fashion. A lot of the custom components on these type of PCB as- semblies have long lead times, which can make it difficult for us to deliver completed units within a timely fashion. With many of our cli- ents, we encourage them to quote the project as soon as possible—that way we can give them an accurate picture of what to expect for lead time. Las Marias: What new demands/require- ments are your customers putting on you? McDonnell: For critical applications, our military and aerospace customers need full transparency—they need to know everything that happens to their product during the manu- facturing process from the very beginning to fi- nal packaging. With a lot of these products, we have to fully validate the manufacturing pro- cess and thoroughly document through PPAPs or other manufacturing controls that all of the Mil/Aero Assembly Success FEATURE INTEVIEW