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MKS' Atotech: More Horizontal Panel Plating in the U.S.
October 11, 2023 | Christopher R. Daczkowski, MKS' AtotechEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Recently, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) opened its new $100 million captive printed circuit board manufacturing facility in Moscow, Idaho. The new facility features state-of-the-art PCB equipment from MKS’ Atotech, one of the leading providers of advanced PCB and IC substrate horizontal manufacturing equipment for the electronics industry. This type of equipment is normally delivered to Asian markets and is not usually seen in North America.
Equipment selection is a crucial decision for any company and directly impacts the quality and efficiency of production processes. For our customers, several key factors usually drive the decision to install MKS’ Atotech equipment lines. These include our long history as a reputable global solutions provider and proven record of successful installations worldwide. Today, we have delivered and installed more than 2,150 horizontal PCB lines for surface treatment, desmear and metallization, copper electroplating, and final finishing of printed circuit boards and IC substrates, of which more than 1,000 are horizontal copper platers. They are well known for their outstanding repeatability of copper deposition uniformity and pure copper plating results.
With the shift toward increased investment in local manufacturing in the U.S., our system solutions are appreciated as high-quality products to support manufacturing demand now and in the future. With our long history in the Americas, we are happy to see this development and are excited to provide the best possible technical support to our customer base, which is growing, especially with the trend of opening new, innovative PCB plants.
Follow this link to continue reading this article which appears in its entirety in the September 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine.
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Powering the Future: How Packaging Choices Make or Break Performance
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NCAB Group White Papers: Practical PCB Design Guidance for Manufacturable Results
02/25/2026 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamThe I-Connect007 Industry Resource Center brings together expert white papers that help engineers and manufacturers navigate today’s design and manufacturing challenges across the PCB lifecycle. NCAB Group contributes a valuable collection of white papers focused on practical PCB design and manufacturability. Drawing on their experience with a global network of production partners, NCAB helps engineers align design intent with fabrication realities: reducing risk while improving consistency and long-term reliability.
Connect the Dots: Designing for the Future of Manufacturing Reality—Strip-Etch-Strip
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Powering the Future: From Thick-Film to DBC—Understanding the Evolution of Ceramic Packaging
02/11/2026 | Brian Buyea -- Column: Powering the FutureCeramic packaging has quietly powered the electronics revolution for more than half a century. From the earliest thick-film hybrids to today’s direct bond copper (DBC) substrates and metallized aluminum nitride, every step forward in ceramic technology has pushed the limits of reliability, power density, and performance. It’s essential for every design engineer building the next generation of electronic systems to understand this evolution.