PowerAmerica Executive Director and National Defense University Study Group Visit ACDi

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ACDi Nashville hosted Nickolas Justice, Executive Director of PowerAmerica, and 16 students plus two faculty from the National Defense University (NDU) Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy out of Washington, DC. This electronics industry study group comprised representative leaders across many disciplines of each branch of the military services.

The purpose of this field study was for NDU students to visit with industry, university, and a manufacturing USA innovation institute involved in manufacturing and advanced manufacturing and hold discussions with state and local officials from North Carolina Research Triangle. This visit will include tours of advanced manufacturing facilities and equipment and include discussions on business strategy, funding sources, current capabilities, how these entities develop, test, and implement emerging technologies in advanced and additive manufacturing, and internal research and development efforts. In addition, this field study will demonstrate the power of the triple helix and the potential when universities, government (local, state, and federal), and industry partner on research and develop and support a growing ecosystem of business involved across all levels of technology readiness.

ACDi Nashville Plant Director Kim Boykin, along with the ACDi Nashville management team including Tim Miller, Operations Manager; Mike Peters, Manufacturing Engineer; and Atiq Ahmad, Test Engineer, hosted the guests, and held detailed discussions with the study group regarding the electronics industry as directly related to ACDi’s position as an electronics manufacturing service (EMS) provider.

Afterward, the ACDi team escorted the study group on a detailed plant tour explaining the full capabilities of the ACDi Nashville operation and manufacturing processes including automated PCB assembly, electromechanical assembly, wire/cable harness assembly, and final assembly integration and testing.

After the tour, the visit was followed with a Southern-style barbecue luncheon catered from renowned Bill’s Barbecue out of Wilson, North Carolina. All parties, both hosts and guests, found the visit very educational and enlightening, offering excellent value in the interest of collaborative engagement between academia, government, and industry.