It’s Only Common Sense: Be the Vendor They Compare Everyone Else To
Marcy’s Musings: Additive Processes, Signal Consequences
The Marketing Minute: If Your Marketing Budget Gets Cut in Half, Then What?
This week’s picks all seem to circle around one bigger reality: The electronics industry is rebuilding itself in real time. Whether it’s investing in workforce development, reshaping manufacturing processes, modernizing how we communicate with readers, or strengthening domestic advocacy, there’s a noticeable shift from simply reacting to challenges toward actively building long-term infrastructure.
That theme showed up everywhere this week, from apprenticeship discussions in Washington, D.C., to young engineers finding unexpected career paths in PCB manufacturing, to companies rethinking manufacturing chemistry and sustainability. Even our own website refresh reflects how quickly the industry is evolving and how important it is to stay connected to reliable information and community.
I-Connect007 Launches Enhanced Homepage
Published May 27
I-Connect007 unveiled a redesigned homepage focused on making industry news, technical resources, podcasts, books, and educational content easier to discover and navigate. The update creates a cleaner reader experience while improving access to newsletters, white papers, podcasts, and the company’s growing technical library. Executive Director Marcy LaRont says the goal remains the same to connect the electronics industry with trusted expertise and meaningful information. It’s a smart evolution that reflects how professionals increasingly consume industry content across multiple platforms and formats.
Meet Emerging Engineers Ahmon Brooks-Starks and Nicolas ‘Cole’ Gregory
Published May 29
One of my favorite interviews from APEX EXPO this year featured two young engineers whose backgrounds remind us there’s no single path into electronics manufacturing. Nicolas “Cole” Gregory studied geology before joining Summit Interconnect as a lab technician, while Ahmon Brooks-Starks came from chemical engineering and medical devices into wet process engineering. Both talked candidly about discovering the complexity of PCB manufacturing, the value of mentorship through the Emerging Engineer Program, and the excitement of solving process and reliability challenges. Their enthusiasm was refreshing, and honestly encouraging for an industry that continues searching for new talent.
Direct Metallization: A Strategic Enabler for Advanced PCB Manufacturing
Published May 28
Carmichael Gugliotti of MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions explains why more PCB fabricators are reconsidering traditional electroless copper processes in favor of direct metallization technologies. As HDI complexity, sustainability pressures, and reliability demands increase, manufacturers are looking for processes that improve yield while reducing environmental impact and process variability. The article breaks down how direct metallization can reduce water use, eliminate hazardous chemistries like formaldehyde, improve thermal reliability in microvias, and strengthen supply chain resilience. It’s a technical piece, but it also speaks directly to larger conversations happening throughout manufacturing right now: efficiency, sustainability, and future-proofing production.
Apprenticeship Summit Highlights Workforce ‘Puzzle’
Published May 27
Victoria Hawkins shares takeaways from the 2026 Apprenticeships for America Summit in Washington, D.C., where workforce leaders, educators, employers, and policymakers gathered to discuss scaling apprenticeship programs nationwide. One standout discussion focused on the challenge of creating apprenticeship systems that work across multiple states while still remaining responsive to employer needs. She reinforces something we hear constantly in electronics manufacturing: Workforce development is becoming a central business strategy tied directly to retention, talent pipelines, and long-term industry resilience.
PCBAA Marks Five Years of Advocacy and Industry Influence
Published May 26
In this column, PCBAA Chair Shane Whiteside reflects on the organization’s first five years advocating for the PCB industry in Washington. What started with five companies frustrated by the industry’s exclusion from the original CHIPS Act conversation has grown into a nearly 100-member coalition focused on reshoring PCB manufacturing and influencing policy around national security and advanced electronics. He highlights PCBAA’s increasing role in legislative outreach, defense-related discussions, and public awareness efforts, including the documentary film The New Frontier. It’s a reminder that the PCB industry has become far more vocal and organized about telling its story.
