-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueComing to Terms With AI
In this issue, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
Box Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
- Articles
Article Highlights
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Firstronic's Personal Commitment to CSR
May 19, 2017 | FirstronicEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
In many ways, Firstronic's approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is traditional. Its team supports local recycling programs, blood drives, charitable organizations near its Juarez, Mexico plant and other worthy causes. However, Firstronic's most significant annual fundraising event, a Golf Scramble and Banquet in support of the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) that is held each July, has a personal element. President and CEO John Sammut’s son, Chase, died from a brain tumor.
Chase was five years old when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3, in his brain stem. John and his family exhausted every available medical alternative in their fight to save their little boy. At seven years of age, Chase earned his angel wings after a long and difficult fight. Chase would have been 17 this May and it is in his memory that the team at Firstronic helps raise money to help other children fighting battles against tumors by supporting CTF.
“Prior to Chase’s diagnosis, I had no idea what families with this condition had to deal with. We didn’t know about CTF at the time because like many charitable organizations that deal with diseases that impact a small percentage of the population, they aren’t widely known and don’t have the resources to conduct large scale awareness campaigns or fundraising efforts,” said Sammut.
The team at Firstronic liked the idea of supporting a charity where their efforts really did make a big difference, and in 2015 the First Annual Firstronic Golf Outing and Dinner was held. Suppliers signed on for sponsorships and the company’s customers, employees and suppliers signed up for teams. The 2015 event raised $10,000 and the 2016 event raised $15,000. Firstronic has set a $20,000 goal for the 2017 event. However, this year, the company also wants to raise awareness of CTF as it expands fund raising efforts.
“In the past, our funds were raised primarily from corporate sponsorships, golf fees and dinner tickets. Firstronic donated $3,000 on top of the funds generated from the event plus supplied the labor to organize and hold the event. This year, we wanted to encourage individual contributions and promote this effort as widely as possible to help tell CTF's story to a larger audience within the electronics manufacturing community. This charity makes every dollar count, and as anyone who has had a child with neurofibromatosis will tell you, we need more research into treatments for the tumors this condition causes,” Sammut added.
Individuals can make contributions on Firstronic's page at CTF.
About Firstronic LLC
Firstronic LLC (www.firstronic.com) provides advanced electronics manufacturing services and optimized supply chain solutions for companies in a wide range of industries including automotive, industrial and medical device. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, Firstronic has a 35,000 square foot facility, state-of- the-art equipment and a 70,000 square foot facility in Juarez, Mexico. Its Michigan facility was named a 2016 IndustryWeek Best Plant, due to its industry-leading Lean manufacturing practices. It also supports companies needing access to global manufacturing locations via JV operations in China, India and the Czech Republic, in addition to its JV with the Lacroix Group.
About The Children’s Tumor Foundation
The Children's Tumor Foundation (www.ctf.org) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for the millions of people worldwide living with neurofibromatosis (NF), a term for three distinct disorders: NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis. NF causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities, and excruciating and disabling pain.
NF affects one in every 3,000 people, more than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease combined. The Children’s Tumor Foundation funds critical research into neurofibromatosis. In addition to benefiting those who live with NF, this research is shedding new light on several forms of cancer, brain tumors, bone abnormalities, and learning disabilities, ultimately benefiting the broader community.
Suggested Items
Podcast Review: On the Line with… Designing for Reality
05/09/2024 | Duane Benson, Positive Edge LLCAs a technologist, if I were forced to come up with just one recurring theme that I might call a professional “nemesis,” it would be the difference between theory and reality. A lot of technology we have at our disposal works well in theory but falls short when reality hits. That’s not the only reason I chose to listen to and review On the Line with… Designing for Reality, featuring a series of conversations with ASC Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson, but it certainly helped that the title caught my eye.
NEOTech Positions Itself as Microelectronics Industry Leader with High-Technology Investments
05/09/2024 | NEOTechNEOTech, a leading provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), design engineering, and supply chain solutions in the high-tech industrial, medical device, and aerospace/defense markets, announces a significant investment in acquiring new Palomar 8100 wire bonder machines, enhancing the company’s positioning as a leader of cutting-edge microelectronics assemblies for mission-critical applications.
MKS’ Atotech, ESI to Participate in CPCA Show
05/09/2024 | MKS’ AtotechMKS’ Atotech, and ESI will participate in the CPCA Show 2024. The show will be held from May 13 to 15, 2024, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) and will bring together domestic and international manufacturers in the electronic circuit industry.
Dragonfly Energy Announces Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Production: Eliminating Harmful 'Forever Chemicals'
05/09/2024 | Globe NewswireDragonfly Energy Holdings Corp., an industry leader in green energy storage, has made a significant breakthrough in battery manufacturing with the successful production of PFAS-free electrodes in lithium battery cells.
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—The Pre-Manufacturing Process
05/08/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsI have been working with Nolan Johnson on a podcast series about designing PCBs for the reality of manufacturing. By sharing lessons learned over a long career in the PCB industry, we hope to shorten learning curves and help designers produce better boards with less hassle and rework. Episode 2 deals with the electronic pre-manufacturing process. Moving from CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is a key step in PCB manufacturing. CAM turns digital designs into instructions that machines can use to actually build the PCB.