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Catching up with Canadian Circuits
December 27, 2013 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management GroupEstimated reading time: 6 minutes
Always interested in how their business is doing, I recently had the chance to talk with my friends Praveen and Pam Arya, owners of one of the few PCB shops in Western Canada. Of interest to me is the fact that the team at Canadian Circuits works so hard to provide customers--especially local customers--a good, solid PCB solution.
We often hear about the large global PCB companies, but seldom about the smaller ones like Canadian Circuits--companies that, for many years, were the very backbone of our industry. With consolidations, mergers, and globalization, not many companies like Canadian Circuits are left.
Founded in 1993, CCI Canadian Circuits focuses on providing customers with a custom solution that goes beyond specific technology needs. The company strives to focus on customers’ overall PCB needs, including lead times and special delivery requirements, as well as packaging needs. Its credo is to go beyond customers' specified needs to offer what they need to be successful in servicing their own customers. The company provides customers with the best value and the best quality without compromise.
Dan Beaulieu: Praveen and Pam, it's good to talk to both of you again and always a pleasure to see how things are going at Canadian Circuits. How did you get started?
Praveen Arya: We both worked in other PCB shops in the area; that’s how we learned the business in the first place. After a while we felt that we could do this better on our own and after 10 years of working for other people we decided to go into business for ourselves.
Pam Arya: We felt that together we had spent a lot of time and effort working for others and improving their business and now it was time for us to go off on our own. We saw how the people we worked for were servicing their customers and we wanted to do it better.
Praveen: Actually, it was like we had learned what not to do. Also we wanted to work closely with customers and look after their needs and requirements in ways we felt past companies were not capable of doing.
Pam: During our first years in the PCB industry, we met a lot of good people--well-educated and knowledgeable people who were great to work with. From university professors to graduate students, we worked with them to develop effective circuit designs. This is what we really liked doing. It was also something that some of the companies we worked with were not very interested in doing. We felt that if we started our own business, focused on helping customers develop their new products, we could be successful. Today we specialize in working with many of our clients on special R&D projects.
Praveen: My education is in computer sciences, so I got started working in Alberta Wheat Pool in Calgary and later moved to the PCB industry.
Dan: What's different about your company?
Pam: First, we offer quick turnaround; we can build boards in as little as 24 hours which is something not many companies can offer.
Praveen: We work very closely with our customers to get a full understanding of their unique needs and requirements. We take great pride in our customer service. Customers are the reason we're in business and those customers bring bread to my table. We are known for going to great measures to give customers what they need.
Pam: Yes, that’s true. Many of our customers tell us that is why they do business with us.
Dan: That’s interesting. Can you elaborate on that for us?
Praveen: Even when we know the project the customer is asking for is very difficult, we still like to take on the challenge and build prototypes. If that doesn’t work, we'll keep trying different things until we find the right solution. In the end, we invest a great deal on behalf of our customers. Customers remember this so that, even when an engineer leaves one company and goes to another, he will call us up and bring us in to work with him.
Pam: I feel that where we stand apart from our competition is that we put customers first. With us, it's all personal. We want to understand our customers’ needs and requirements and we take pride in our customer service. At Canadian Circuits the saying that "the customer is always right" is more than a saying--it’s a way of life, something we practice daily. We believe the customer is the reason we are in business and they are the ones who put bread on our table. We will do whatever we can to make our customers successful.
Dan: What investements have you made to the company?
Praveen: This business is all about re-investing continuously. Technology is changing so fast that if we don't keep upgrading our company we’ll be left way behind. This past year was no different, in fact, it was one of our heaviest investment years in the history of our company. We hired new staff to upgrade our technology to the next level and also invested in an Atomic Absorption unit to further improve our waste water system at a PPM level. We also brought in an XRF X-ray system to measure the metal thickness and a TDR to check controlled impedance. With this new equipment we can generate written reports for our customers. We also bought a new post-etch punch and a Micro-Craft tester. We are also looking at more equipment and our in negotiations with those companies as we speak.
Dan: How would you describe your customers?
Pam: They are like you and me--they're special because they are the reason I wake up in the morning. They are the reason I live happy and healthy and, hopefully, will live longer. They are reason we are in business. Our customers like doing business with us because we listen. We want to know what they need and then provide it.
Dan: How are things in the market right now?
Praveen: I think the future looks very promising. There's less of a threat from China and it is being reduced all the time due to the increasing labor rate in China. Fuel prices are continually going up so freight costs substantially more these days. Quick turn is also an issue for China plus three days for shipping on top of that. All of these things make it better for companies like ours selling domestically. We are expanding our market to eastern Canada and we can now say that we have picked up a number of large customers from Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. I think things are looking pretty good.
Dan: What's it like doing business in Western Canada?
Pam: There's only one other shop in our area, but that shop is owned by an assembly house. It would be fair to say that we are the largest independent shop in western Canada. It is always a pleasure to serve a local market where we have the opportunity to meet with clients personally. So, in many ways, I feel that being the only truly independent shop in Canada has its advantages--especially when working with local contract manufacturers who do not want to work with a company that is also a CM.
Dan: What are your plans for the future?
Praveen: Our plan is not necessarily to become bigger in size, but rather, to grow in technology. Our vision is to become a high-end R&D center for high-technology and high-tech companies. We take great pride when we do a board and the customer tells us it's for a quantum computer for Google, or for a Boeing console, or for an ultra-precise metrology and oceanography instrumentation panel--we like the idea of building products that matter.
Dan: Praveen and Pam, it is always a pleasure speaking with you and learning more about your unique company. I wish you well in the New Year.
Praveen: Thanks, Dan.
Pam: It’s a pleasure talking to you as well.
For more information, visit www.canadiancircuits.com.