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IPC Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Walt Custer
April 9, 2025 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Editor’s note: Dan Feinberg continues his series on the IPC Hall of Fame, spotlighting the achievements of past Hall of Fame members.
Many IPC members who have contributed significantly to IPC and our industry have been awarded the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame (HOF) Award. Though many early HOF members have passed away and are unknown to today’s IPC membership, their contributions still resonate. This special series on IPC Hall of Fame members provides a reminder of who was honored and why. As a bonus, for those who are still around, we get to find out what these talented individuals are up to today.
This Hall of Fame spotlight features a long-time associate of mine, Walt Custer. Now retired, Walt is well known in the industry for his decades of work as part of Custer Consulting Group, presenting his market research and business analyses at trade shows and conferences around the globe. As I mentioned in my spotlight on Gene Weiner, Walt and I were in that group that reported to Gene back in the old Dynachem days. Under Gene’s tutelage, we became deeply involved in IPC and were eventually honored with the Hall of Fame award.
Walt Custer has a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a master of science degree in physical chemistry from Purdue University. His industry experience is long and varied. He was a board director of Coretec, Inc., Canada’s largest PCB manufacturer, from 2000 until 2010, when it was acquired by DDi. He was also a director and actively involved in EIPC, the European PCB trade organization.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the March 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/08/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007This week, I’ve selected some outstanding interviews that you’ll want to take note of. First, is a roundtable discussion featuring three dynamic industry cybersecurity experts. Please watch this important discussion that affects us all. Following that, I spotlight the IPC-2581 Consortium, which explains why IPC-2581 is the standard to replace Gerber data for manufacturing. Next, I am including my interview with PCBAA and AAM, who collaborated to release a short documentary on U.S. PCB manufacturing.
Global Electronics Association to Testify at the Office of the US Trade Representative Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity
05/08/2026 | Global Electronics AssociationChris Mitchell, Vice President for Global Government Relations at the Global Electronics Association, will testify before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity on Friday, May 8.
Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Karen McConnell
05/07/2026 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007In 2021, Karen McConnell was awarded the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame award in recognition of her contributions to the Association and the electronics industry. As a senior staff member and CAD/CAM engineer at Northrop Grumman Enterprise Services, her primary responsibility was to develop a common, shared EDM (Electronic Document Management) library to support the electrical and PCB design tool initiatives across Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.
A Necessary Shift From Gerber to IPC-2581
05/07/2026 | Tracy Riggan, Global Electronics AssociationIPC-2581 is an open, vendor-neutral data exchange standard developed by the Global Electronics Association to streamline the exchange of PCB design information across fabrication, assembly, and test. It replaces multiple legacy formats—including industry standards, Gerber, and ODB++—with a single, comprehensive, XML-based dataset that captures all manufacturing details.
TTC-LLC and TTCI: Smarter Training, Stronger Test at PCB East 2026
04/27/2026 | The Test Connection Inc.The Training Connection LLC (TTC-LLC) and The Test Connection, Inc. (TTCI) will be exhibiting together at PCB East 2026, taking place April 28–May 1 at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Attendees can find both teams at Booth #103 during the main exhibition day on Wednesday, April 29.