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

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Though the news cycle felt a little less exclamatory this week, there were many global business news headlines worth revisiting. Among them, China announced a bold carbon emissions goal of 10% over the next decade to double its solar and wind power capacity. The Wall Street Journal published an article, “Global Port Leaders See Trade Shifting, Not Slowing,” a nod to businesses’ risk mitigation strategies and execution around overreliance on China coming into play in a bigger way.

The World Economic Forum is projecting a “period of weak global growth” in 2026 for established markets, with emerging markets—like South Asia and India—faring a bit better. TikTok looks like it’s in the clear as far as the company is concerned, with an announcement that it has satisfied the sale-or-ban law requirements. 

In industry news this week, Tom Kastner has an M&A column about the emerging trend toward Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) buyers for smaller PCB and EMS companies. Edy Yu, our partner in China, attended THECA in Thailand and took a factory tour of a Chinese PCB fabricator there. It’s interesting and insightful for any company looking into expanding into that region. I welcome new voices, so I’m highlighting Chintan Sanghani’s (SLB, aka Schlumberger) article in SMT007 Magazine with a great perspective and case examples of executing Lean for high mix, low volume environments.

There’s some really positive momentum regarding workforce development, including NCAB’s impressive and comprehensive efforts, from high school to internships. Finally, MKS dropped its sixth and final episode in its “Optimize the Interconnect” podcast series, featuring MKS’ CTO Kuldip Johal. It’s the perfect endcap to a great series and definitely not to be missed.

Punching Out: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Buyers for PCB/EMS Shops
Published September 24

I really enjoyed Tom Kastner’s column on the growing trend in the M&A world for PCB and EMS shops: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). Tom defines ETA and explains why it is surging in popularity for companies in the range of $1 million to $10 million where there are far fewer options for sellers. With so much of the senior-level workforce and business owners at retirement age, you owe it to yourself to learn more about this M&A trend.

Inside Thailand’s Rising PCB Hub: Touring a Chinese Fab
Published September 23

It is great to be working closely with our colleague, Edy Yu in China. Edy and two colleagues toured a modern Thai shop owned by a Chinese PCB fabricator, First Quality Circuit Co., Ltd. This thorough and thoughtful interview addresses the reality that “global manufacturing is undergoing a profound paradigm shift.” This comes from the viewpoint of a Chinese fabricator, as well as expansion and diversification through a China Plus One solution.

How PCBA Excellence Transforms High-mix Operations
Published September 22

This article introduces Chintan Sanghani of SLB, who works as a part of the Electronics Center for Excellence and is an expert voice on Lean manufacturing. In this piece, Chintan discusses the reality, constraints, and success for Lean in high mix, low volume environments, acknowledging that new approaches are needed to leverage the benefits of Lean, and provides his own case study as an example. Operational and process optimization is a critical topic for every type of business, regardless of size. This article keeps this proven continuous improvement methodology in front of us, and it’s worth a read.

Fresh PCB Concepts: Investing in Tomorrow's PCB Experts Today
Published September 25

The gaping holes of tomorrow’s tech workforce is a frequent topic of discussion, and I have a lot of hope. In the Summer 2025 issue of Community Magazine, Milwaukee Electronics highlights the logistics and success of its workforce training program in partnership with the Global Electronics Association. We recently highlighted an interview by SMTA’s Tara Dunn announcing the winners of its Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge. Now I’m recommending NCAB’s column discussing its approach to engaging young students, at the high school and university level, to fill the PCB workforce pipeline of the (near) future. “When students hear from practicing engineers, they recognize the central role PCBs play across industries and picture themselves in these careers,” the article states. I encourage you to read, and most importantly, think about what you and your organization can be doing in this space.

New Podcast Episode Drop: Optimize the Interconnect—It’s a Wrap!
Published September 25

Last but definitely not least, the final episode of MKS’ podcast, “Optimize the Interconnect,” dropped this week, focused on “unified solutions for high-volume HDI PCB manufacturing.” This final of six episodes features MKS’ Chief Technology Officer, Kuldip Johal, who emphasizes the need to work closely with supply chain partners and balance the sometimes competing metrics of “yield, reliability, and scalability as interconnect density and complexity continue to increase.” It’s not too late to catch up on previous episodes and, while you’re at it, download the free companion guide.