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Second Thoughts: Challenging Times Challenge Convention
April 14, 2009 |Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
The current economic climate and subsequent global downturn has prompted many PCB shops to revisit how they conduct business in an attempt to find an edge--be it technical, cost, service/performance or, perhaps, even a combination of each. I've spoken to many companies in the past few months and each expressed concern about uncertainty in the supplier base and the lack of new and viable alternatives. I think that this concern is both real and understandable. There are, however, the occasional glimmers of hope. In recent weeks, I've had the opportunity to meet with three companies, two of which are start-ups, each offering what they consider to be exactly what the PCB market is looking for at the moment.
The first of these meetings was with PCB Planet, a CAM outsourcing business based in Gujarat, North West India. Perhaps Gujarat's most famous son was Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, the spiritual and political leader who inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Manager Sapan Chokshi, believes that PCB Planet is well-placed to inspire a liberating alternative in the field of PCB Cam engineering.
PCB Planet was established in 2000 and has grown from strength to strength. The company now employs over 180 CAM engineers using the latest CAM packages from Frontline and Ucamco, as well as PCB Planets own bespoke analysis and optimisation tools, designed to offer customers a complete solution. Chokshi explained that one of the challenges facing fabricators today is the apparent contradiction between capacity utilization on the shop floor and capacity utilization in CAM. He cited two main drivers of this phenomenon:
- An increase in the number of prototypes and new designs.
- A dramatic increase in the number of quotations driven by fabricators searching new business and vendors taking the opportunity to assess new providers.
"CAM outsourcing is not about taking out jobs at our customers' sites. It is about offering significantly more capacity from the existing resource in line with the demands of the current market setting," enthused Chokshi. "Our CAM team is there to help our customer colleagues manage the peaks and troughs of an unpredictable market, whilst, at the same time, allowing them to provide the highest levels of both service and integrity to their own customers. We are able to turn a complete CAM job round in as little as two hours. We offer this service 24/7."
This was of great interest to me. I've sold CAM software for many years and know only too well how sensitive data can be. I also understand the challenges presented by differing design rule criteria, and the bespoke nature of making circuits. "The most common initial objection is data sensitivity and perceived difficulty of understanding local CAM workflows and rules. Our global customer base is testimony to our ability to deal effectively and securely with the wide range of jobs that we are presented with," added Chokshi.
Indeed, looking at their global customer base, it seems that they really have been able to manage this very successfully by focusing particularly on CAM automation. Customers existing automation procedures are maintained and developed, and new unique automation procedures in UCAM and Genesis are also created. Given the clear need for flexibility and cost control, it's not surprising that an increasing number of fabricators are choosing to supplement their own capability with an outsourced CAM solution. Further details can be found www.PCBplanet.com.
Travelling West, back into Europe, my next stop was the beautiful Italian city of Verona, famous for Romeo and Juliet and the rich red wine Amarone della Valpolicella. In PCB terms, Verona has, for the last few years, been the home of electrical test. One of the many casualties of the recent demise of Mania Technologie was the universal grid test division based in Verona. This grid test business had secured the #1 market position between 2003 and 2007 and enjoyed phenomenal success in key Asian markets, together with a steady flow from Europe and North America. Alas, even the position of market leader wasn't sufficient to secure the divisions future against a backdrop of protracted legal negotiations, and it was finally wound up late last year. After much soul searching, three of the former mangers, decided to commit all into resurrecting the division under a new company, CL Tech.
Maurizio Bonati is taking care of sales and business development. He's a close friend and one of the industry's good guys. Although we speak regularly, it had been a few months since we'd met and the most noticeable change was that the sparkle was back in his eyes. "It's been a very difficult few months for everyone--our families, the creditors and not least our customers. There is an enormous installed base out there and finally, the uncertainty is ended," said Bonati.
Indeed, the uncertainty within the installed base appears to have been an enormous problem. Having sold well over 100 units annually for the last few years, it's easy to see why there are many fabricators blowing a huge sigh of relief at the resurrection of this industry stalwart. Bonati's plans are pretty straight forward and as solid as can be expected in the current climate. CL Tech has reached an agreement with the Italian administrator for all technology rights, a stock of machines and components allowing them to provide sales and service globally.
Co-founder Gianpaolo Antonello, explained that manufacturing will remain in Europe, but will be predominantly variable cost. "Our philosophy is simple," explained Antonello. "We will focus our costs on development of new products and the support of the many customers out there in the field. Our cost structure will serve us well during the current uncertainty within the market. We are not looking to sell machines in the same volume as in the past. For now, support revenues and a handful of new sales is all we need."
At this stage, the third co-founder, Graziano Bagioni eagerly joined in the conversation. Bagioni will head up R&D. "The three of us are at one in our vision for this company's future--affordable technology to satisfy the current and future needs of the market. Focusing a large proportion of our costs with my department allows the team to concentrate efforts into the development of new technologies--largely refinement and completion of work in progress over recent times."
Knowing these guys well as I do, it seems to me that they are well-placed to ride the current storms of uncertainty and position themselves to benefit from the inevitable upturn in market sentiment whenever it appears. Bonati can be contacted at .
My final port of call was Burnley, Lancashire, in the North West of England. Burnley is famous for two things--Burnley FC the local football (soccer) club, a founder member of the English football league and Sir Ian McKellen, a world famous actor. Perhaps it's best kept secret though is inner layer manufacturing expertise. A short drive away from Burnley is the village of Haslingden, population of approximately 16,000 people and home to Europe's last remaining specialist mass-laminator, Option Technologies. Steve Law learned his trade there having joined Option in the early 1980s. Since then, he's made a living producing inner layers--more often than not challenging ones. Option supplied their first 32 layer PCB in 1996, and two years later were producing 3 mil (75µ) line and space product.
Recently, Law and a colleague, Billy McGarrie, took the bold step of going it alone and founded their own consultancy business, PCB manufacturing solutions. Having taken a similar step last year, I understand only too well the risks that they have taken, yet you couldn't fail to be impressed by Law's confidence and belief in the niche he feels he and McGarrie are about to fill. Already, they have secured a significant process improvement assignment with one of Europe's most successful fabricators. There is interest from several others too.
Law said, "I've spent over twenty years making problem products for some of the leading manufacturers in Europe and North America. This business is about cost, technology and service. Translating this to the real world, yield is probably the number one driver when looking to improve in these areas. Most companies have the capability--great equipment and great people. They just don't always have the benefit of experience. Our job is simply to bring our vast know-how to the table and help companies optimise their own inner layer capacity."
I hope that those of you that read this article are encouraged, inspired even, by the small successes that each of these companies have managed to enjoy against an often depressing backdrop of universal pessimism. Hard work, expertise and competiveness are no longer a guarantee of success in today's business, but they certainly help. These three companies seem to have it in abundance. Let's see how things develop for them over the coming months.