Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Dream First, Details Later
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
Facing the Future: Time for Real Talk, Early and Often, Between Design and Fabrication
Automation Attracts: The New Guard to PCB Fabrication
December 20, 2018 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
It only took a few seconds inside the GreenSource Fabrication plant for the I-Connect007 staff to realize just how different the facility is. The look and feel of the place, however, is just one difference; staffing the facility is unique as well.
Of the Charlestown, New Hampshire facility’s technology and people, GreenSource Fabrication VP Alex Stepinski said, “You don’t see other fabricators replacing plating areas. It just never gets done because it’s too hard. And then you have a lack of young people in the industry—everyone is five seconds from retirement, it seems. From what we see, if you go into any board shop, I think the average age is probably 55–60.”
Ask him why that is, and he answers right away.
“They can’t get young people to stay there because the places are all scary. If you’re a millennial and you walk into some place where there’s copper plating dripping everywhere…” Stepinski shakes his head. “Nobody wants to work there.”
GreenSource Makes a Choice to Bridge the Gap
GreenSource—like most of the industry—is struggling with an age/expertise gap. In fact, it’s more like a gaping chasm. Experienced PCB fabrication techs and engineers are typically over 50, with a much smaller percentage under age 30. In between, there’s a huge chunk of the age demographic simply missing from the work force.
“For every five that retire, they get replaced with one,” says Stepinski. Which raises one of the key questions for PCB facility ownership: what good is investing in new equipment if there won’t be anyone who can run it? After a thoughtful pause, Stepinski threw down the gauntlet.
“We see this across the whole market. We’re trying to stay ahead of it by making a nice working environment and getting a lot of young people here. We have a good demographic. We have experienced people who have a lot of industry knowledge. Then we have a lot of younger people, and we have a bunch of people in the middle,” Stepinski explained.
“It’s a nice bell curve, as it should be. That’s going to be our advantage long term. I think 5–10 years from now, you’re going to see a lot more shops disappearing simply because there is nobody to run them.”
Management Plans
The GreenSource master plan, therefore, does not simply stop with equipment. Expertise is required as well—sustainable expertise. After talking to a number of staff members, the master plan emerged based on five key pillars:
- Invest in cutting edge equipment and processes
- Make this facility cleaner and more capable than any other in the industry
- Staff with high-caliber industry experts and motivate them to teach down
- Select and train local area technical grads
- Avoid industry tradition (what was), and concentrate on current knowledge (what is)
To read the full version of this article which originally appeared in the October 2018 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.
Trump Copper Tariffs Spark Concern
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPresident Donald Trump stated on July 8 that he plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking concern in a global industry whose output is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors, and a wide range of consumer goods. According to Yahoo Finance, copper futures climbed over 2% following tariff confirmation.
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
07/09/2025 | Happy Holden -- Column: Happy’s Tech TalkWhen we consider via reliability, the major contributing factors are typically processing deviations. These can be subtle and not always visible. One particularly insightful column was by Mike Carano, “Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper,” where he outlined some of the possible causes of hole defects for both plated through-hole (PTH) and blind vias.
Trouble in Your Tank: Can You Drill the Perfect Hole?
07/07/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the movie “Friday Night Lights,” the head football coach (played by Billy Bob Thornton) addresses his high school football team on a hot day in August in West Texas. He asks his players one question: “Can you be perfect?” That is an interesting question, in football and the printed circuit board fabrication world, where being perfect is somewhat elusive. When it comes to mechanical drilling and via formation, can you drill the perfect hole time after time?