I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

On a global scale, productronica has been dominating the news this week, mostly with announcements and show preliminaries. It’s been a long and full week for those who have exhibited and attended the trade show (despite the November rain), and I encourage you to review our productronica coverage from this week. In the coming days, we’ll be showcasing more photos, videos, and interviews, so please stay tuned.

What else happened this week? Plenty, and my must-reads for the week highlight some of the other news, most notably a very big announcement from IPC about a registered apprenticeship program that has recognition in all 50 states and partnership with several companies already.

There’s other positive news for fabricators and suppliers, all giving it their all to look ahead despite a couple of challenging months. It’s really where you choose to hang your hat, and Calumet’s news is a prime example of that.

We’ve got a U.S. holiday on the horizon, so get the turkey out to thaw and go buy that pumpkin pie. Now, on to my highlights.

IPC Attains U.S. Dept. of Labor Approval of National Apprenticeships Standards, First-Ever in U.S. Electronics Manufacturing Industry
Published November 16

National Apprenticeship Week concludes today, and it’s fitting that IPC would announce approval of their National Program Standards of Apprenticeship with a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. The announcement states, “National Program Standards of Apprenticeship are occupational training standards developed and sponsored by an employer, an industry organization, labor organization, educational institution, or consortium. IPC’s apprenticeship standards cover two critically important occupations—electronics assemblers and printed circuit board fabricators—and provide valuable, hands-on experience with a defined pathway to secure, well-paying careers in electronics manufacturing.” This is definitely something to keep an eye on because it’s opening the door to a new, talented workforce.

DOD Awards $39.9 Million to Strengthen U.S. Supply Chains for PCBs
Published November 16

"The Biden Administration has prioritized the need to support and advance the domestic PCB and advanced packaging industrial base," said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. "These technologies are critical for modern weapons systems and will contribute to maintaining our warfighting edge over potential adversaries." Calumet Electronics Corporation is the recipient of this specific award, one of 22 awards made by DOD. Learn more here.

Ucamco Launches Jayda: A Revolutionary Web-Based Quoting Tool with Dynamic Graphics
Published November 10

Ucamco reports that Jayda is “designed to meet the ever-growing demand for interactive web shop tools” for quoting, including dynamic graphics and AI technology. In addition to this news item, see our interview with Karel Tavernier in our coverage of productronica 2023 at  realtimewith.com.

Shortage of Raw Materials Challenges CCL Market Amidst Strong Demand for Electronic Devices
Published November 13

With copper’s critical role in electronics, supply and demand dynamics in the copper clad laminate supply chain can have a huge impact. This market research piece predicts that “the global copper-clad laminates (CCL) market is set to achieve a market value of US$15.96 billion by 2023, experiencing a steady Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.84% during the forecasted period” and then goes into some more detail. Get the update here.

NextFlex Announces $6.5M Funding for Flexible Hybrid Electronics Innovations in Extreme Environments and Sustainability
Published November 16

Innovation continues in the flex space. For example, “NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) Manufacturing Innovation Institute, announced $6.49M in funding (including $3.29M in cost-share contribution from participants) for seven new projects as part of its Project Call 8.0 to further promote FHE development and adoption throughout the U.S. advanced manufacturing sector.” Learn more here.