Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/950499
20 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2018 Feature by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team Whelen Engineering has recently spun off their new printed circuit manufacturing facil- ity to service the merchant market as a new business entity, GreenSource Fabrication LLC. Because of this strategic move, their collabo- ration with Atotech regarding production au- tomation and green PCB manufacturing is get- ting serious attention. Our I-Connect007 edito- rial team recently conducted a teleconference with Alex Stepinski, vice president and gen- eral manager of GreenSource, and Atotech's team, including North America Business Direc- tor Moody Dreiza; Gerhard Kruse, sales man- ager at the equipment plant in Feucht, Germa- ny; and Daniel Schmidt, who oversees glob- al marketing for Atotech's electronics business unit. We discussed the foundation of this part- nership, the technical challenges of building green, fully automated fabrication facilities, and GreenSource's plans for the future. Patty Goldman: Welcome, gentlemen. Gerhard and Daniel, let's begin with you. Can you tell me how you entered this project? Gerhard Kruse: I was involved in this project during the sales process, so I was brought in at the very beginning, before I handed it over to our project management. Daniel Schmidt: In Q3 2016, when we heard about Alex's plan to build a full-fledged au- tomated and green PCB production facility in North America for GreenSource, which was Whelen at that time, we invited him to meet our chemistry and equipment expert group in Berlin and Feucht to talk about the available Atotech processes and equipment solutions, as well as possible challenges on his way to realizing the project. As part of the process, we opened our doors to our global technical centers in Berlin, Yokohama (Japan) and Jan - gan (S. Korea) and showcased our equipment in a production environment. Today, I am very happy to look at the status of the project and the amazing work by Alex and the Atotech team. Goldman: Alex, why don't you give our readers an overview of what's going on with Green- Source. GreenSource: Good for the Industry, Good for the World Figure 1: Pre-clean followed by electro- plate copper which uses two separate electrolytes: THF (through-hole fill) or MVF (micro via fill).