Managers Forum

Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson

I-CONNECT007

Nolan Johnson gets a preview from Gene Weiner about what he has planned for the Hall of Fame Council’s biggest IPC APEX EXPO Managers Forum in years. With a lineup of speakers from throughout the supply chain, and spanning many different-sized companies, it is set to be an insightful and beneficial discussion for those in attendance.

Nolan Johnson: Gene, let’s talk about the Managers Forum.

Gene Weiner: I’ve done an executive level every few years. This is the biggest, and probably the broadest, one that I’ve done since we had the meeting in Los Angeles in 2007.

Johnson: Tell me more! Weiner: The intent this year is to cover the entire market based on the crisis we’ve had: the shortages, the COVID-19 complexities, the smaller companies not having the staff or the wherewithal to know where to go or how to react to what’s next. How do they build their own factory of the future while they’re trying to get the supply chains filled and deal with the shortages? How do they work with their customers who were also scrambling and changing supply chains? So, I thought we’d start at the top and work down, starting with the OEMs who have managed the crisis: General Dynamics or Northrup Grumman. Everyone knows they’re legitimate, good, wonderful companies. We asked them to talk on these points: • How did you deal with this? • What can we expect from you? • What can you teach your supply chain?

Gene Weiner

Then we go down to the next step. And I kept hearing, “We’re small. What can we do?” Our goal became aiming it at companies under $100 million in sales. After the IPC introduced its education programs, I ran into Norman Weiss, who founded a small EMS company, connected with German Robotics, and founded the German Ondustry 4.0 Campus for upskilling workers in our industry.

We said, “That takes care of the EMS guys. Now, what do they do?” Well, they’ve got to work with their fabricators. How are they going to do that? That led us to the presidents of two fabricators: Anaya Vardya [American Standard Circuits] and Brad Bourne [FTG]. Anaya is the author of all of these online books and does a great job working with new suppliers, testing new stuff, educating their customers. When you educate your customer, you’re doing a service and you create value. At the same time, Brad agreed to sit on the panel comprised of companies representing the entire supply chain.

Then we asked, “What about your suppliers?” Well, who is one of the largest suppliers in the world—supplying larger and smaller companies—and doing leading edge stuff? Atotech. They do over $1.1 billion from metal finishing, semiconductors, and printed circuits—everything from equipment to specialty chemicals. How venturesome are they? Just look at Whelen Engineering and GreenSource Fabrication, and we see what they’ve done. Then he [Alex Stepinski, GreenSource] actually bought the company that supplied his wet processing equipment, improved it and took it international.

Johnson: Right, AWP.

Weiner: Yes, AWP. Then Alex came up with this waste treatment process which eliminates hazardous waste, among other things. His customers started asking for help designing a greenfield factory for re-shoring. Alex made that a business. Next thing you know, he’s got SEL and Vicor as customers—and all three parties agreed to present. They’ll talk about why they’re doing it, how they’re doing it, and what they expect from it. They’ll discuss the planning process and how they choose their location, which will be Andover, Massachusetts, and Moscow, Idaho.

Then, we needed a materials expert on the panel. I contacted Jonathan Rowntree, group vice president of Rogers. He said, “Sure, I’d be happy to sit on the panel.”

I think we’ve put together the most complete program covering education, materials, specialty chemicals, fabrication, new re-shoring facilities, and so on. We’ve got EMS for the small guy, AI, factory of the future, and the OEM view. What more can you do in a day?

Johnson: That many topics requires two hands worth of fingers to count them off (laughs). That’s very comprehensive and the topics are very timely. I’m curious, is this year’s program intentionally put together to draw a

Weiner: Absolutely. Printed circuit fabrication is what, 8% or 9% of the IPC now? The IPC has grown, I’ve grown, the industry has grown. I hope I’ve grown, but not just here (points to his stomach and laughs).

Johnson: Who should attend, Gene?

Weiner: Every new manager or manager dealing with the issues and crises of the day, just trying to move forward. I would say middle- to upper-level management, and those aspiring to become managers who want to know how to solve problems. It’s a broad range.

Johnson: Equally EMS, fabrication, and suppliers.

Weiner: Yes, equipment and material suppliers both. It’s a connected chain. If you’re going to benefit the industry, you have to go top to bottom, or bottom to top. If you miss a link, you break the chain and you really don’t accomplish the goal.

Johnson: This certainly covers the whole chain.

Weiner: I have fun doing this. I like dealing with people. The terrible part of this is I’ve had to do it all by computer, phone and internet instead of over a beer or a lunch and a factory tour. Hopefully, that will end soon.

Johnson: Despite all the obstacles you’ve faced, this certainly is a very topical, strong program. Gene, for those who are following along here and realize that they can take advantage of the managers forum this year, where should they go to register or sign up? How do they do that?

Weiner: Go to ipcapexexpo.org and select “Management Programs” under the “Education” tab, or just type “IPC APEX EXPO 2021” in the search bar.

Johnson: There you are. Anything else that we should know?

Weiner: I hope that all those involved in electronics manufacturing and packaging including government officials that are concerned about the industry’s viability, take advantage of this. They should because it supports the program and training the millions of workers that the IPC promised to Washington, and the only way it can succeed is if people take advantage of it by signing up for the event and participating in it.

Johnson: Great, Gene. I think that’s a great way to wrap it up. Thanks so much!