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

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Spring is a renewal each year as dormant flora bloom, and baby ducklings and geese are ever present in local bodies of water. Even though it is beginning to get hot, I love this time of year in Arizona, with the sun waking me around 5 a.m. It fills me with an energy that I often lose in the dark winter months. Wherever you find yourself in the world, I hope you are enjoying Spring and that you are filled with energy and enthusiasm for all the great work part of our daily lives in this industry.

Since IPC APEX EXPO, we’ve been featuring our Real Time with… coverage. This week, we launched Show & Tell Magazine, a veritable yearbook of everything that went on at the show. Take some time to flip through and see what you may have missed.

This week, I’m also including the latest column by my friend Dan Beaulieu, who poses some excellent but uncomfortable questions to PCB business owners. Columnist Tom Kastner educates us on business valuation and the choices ahead for owners who find themselves in a “valuation box.” Doug Bodenstab discusses the Del Mar Electronic and Manufacturing Show with Barry Matties. And I had to share some interesting but more general market news on technology development in batteries and moving away from PFAS, something that may just help the rest of us down the line. 

Relive the Experience: Real Time with … IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Show & Tell Magazine
Published May 9

This publication is an homage to IPC APEX EXPO, the largest global trade show specifically focused on design, PCB and EMS. If you missed the show, you definitely would want to take some time flipping through this publication. If you attended the show, you know firsthand that it is impossible to do and see everything, so this publication is also for you. With extensive reviews of professional development and special sessions, events, and the technical program, our RTW coverage and “Voices from the Show,” not to mention the fabulous photo galleries, please take some time with this magazine.  

It’s Only Common Sense: Would You Join Your Own Company?
Published May 6

As is often the case, Dan Beaulieu’s column this week poses uncomfortable but important questions for PCB fab shop owners and managers. If you were a young person today, just starting your career, would you want to work at your own company? Among the many important questions Dan puts forth, these, in my opinion, are the most important: “Do your people understand the vision and mission of your company? Do they have pride of product? When was the last time you had a regularly scheduled, all-hands meeting? When was the last time you had any meeting, especially one designed to make your folks feel good about where they work?” What we are talking about here is a culture shift toward providing a few simple things that make it far more likely that your workers—young and old—will feel great about where they work, and stay. 

Punching Out: Breaking Out of the Valuation Box
Published May 9

We seem to be in a renaissance of M&A for PCB and EMS companies. Given the average age and impending retirement of many PCB business owners in the United States, this is not surprising. It also means that business valuation is an important and relevant topic. In this article, M&A specialist, Tom Kastner drills down on business valuation, starting off with this jarring truth, “Most companies are in a ‘valuation box.’ That is, the value of the company, based on a market multiple, is not equal to the value of the assets. Or worse, once debt is paid off, the net proceeds would actually be negative.” If you are someone who may be in that “valuation box,” you want to read this column as it clearly lays out the choices ahead.

Doug Bodenstab: What's Exciting at the Del Mar Electronic and Manufacturing Show
Published May 8

As the trade show season continues, the Del Mar Electronic and Manufacturing Show (DMEMS) happened at the end of April. If you’ve been, you know that it’s a fun show and in a beautiful location at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, which is both ocean and lagoon adjacent and very near San Diego. Showcasing over 300 exhibitors, and with a conference that included IPC, SMTA, and IEEE involvement, the “little” Del Mar show grew again this year. In this interview, Barry Matties talks to organizer Doug Bodenstab, congratulating him on 28 years, discussing the “new” sister show in Anaheim in October, and reinforcing the importance of the trade show scene generally, stating, “This is where you find what you are not looking for.” For me, Doug’s words ring true: “There's no better search engine than a human.” 

Dragonfly Energy Announces Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Production: Eliminating Harmful 'Forever Chemicals'
Published May 9

As a point of market interest, a few news items caught my eye this week. Among them was this announcement by Dragonfly Energy. The March issue of PCB007 Magazine was about sustainability, and in it, IPC’s Dr. Kelly Scanlon provided information and insight into the issues of PFAS and electronics manufacturing. Though Dragonfly is battery technology, the question for the rest of us becomes, can and how could this technology be leveraged in other areas to eliminate PFAS chemicals in manufacturing? “Recognizing the global potential of its dry electrode battery manufacturing process and its ability to produce PFAS-free electrodes, Dragonfly Energy is exploring international partnership opportunities. These partnerships could take the form of licensing its scalable cell manufacturing process, enabling established manufacturers to adopt Dragonfly Energy's environmentally friendly technology.”