Catching up with Artnet Pro’s Meir Polack

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Meir: Yes, we can; we can repair it and bring back to life almost any Orbotech and most of Camtek equipment. We don’t buy parts from Orbotech for example, but rather have ongoing relationships with companies who provide us with the parts that we need. We can repair your laser direct imaging, plotters and AOI machines with a warranty on the parts we replaced. We also provide an option for a very affordable annual maintenance agreement thus keeping our customer’s investment at the highest performance and capabilities in full compliance to the OEM spec.  

Dan: As part of your services do you help people buy used equipment? I know you sell it as well. But if someone buys something from someone else, say at auction, can you give them some advice about that equipment, if they should buy it or not, for example?

Meir: Good question and an important one as well. Here is what we can provide: We can inspect the equipment that is being sold at auction and advise our customer whether or not that particular piece of equipment will be a good investment for them prior to them bidding on it. We can also give a customer our opinion regarding the pre-condition of equipment before he buys it. Sometimes customers are ready to buy a piece of equipment at a low price they do not realize what the actual cost of repairing it will be, we can give them an estimate for that, then if it still makes sense for them to buy that equipment we will take over, refurbish the equipment to its original condition and also include a full warranty for our services. We are looking to build long term relationships with our customers based on trust, honesty and mutual respect.

Dan: I have to say that one of the things I like about you guys is that you have developed a company that helps people here in North American—and heaven knows we need to. So I assume you guys are in for the long haul, right?

Meir: It is a very tough market and we would definitely need the support of our customers. Our existence in the market, we want to believe it is an interest of all our customers and I hope many others in the PCB industry. We believe our role is to keep the prices of equipment services and used equipment at reasonable prices so that more companies can afford them. We want to provide good and valuable alternative solutions to the PCB market. I believe that without this alternative the large OEM companies will dominate the market and I am sure that each one of us knows the consequences for such a situation. The OEMs are always announcing and telling customers that they welcome the competition, but is that really the case? Do you really think that this is a true statement? I doubt it. The truth of the matter is that they are trying to wipe out the smaller guys, they just don’t want them there any longer. But if we at Artnet Pro have anything to say about it, this will not happen…not on our watch. We are doing everything we can to help the smaller guys. We want as many PCB shops to survive and then thrive by making it possible for them to compete with the big guys. We are asking for those smaller PCB shop owners to come and work with us. If they support us we will support them and together we can make this a better marketplace, one where companies of all sizes can compete on a level playing field.

Dan: How do you see the PCB market in North America today?

Meir: The PCB market in the USA is shrinking every year with companies closing and big corporations buying out the smaller shops; sometimes they keep these smaller shops open but just as often they tend to shut them down. There is no doubt that it is a very tough and competitive market, one that is very demanding for all of these smaller companies. The owners have to be much more creative in order to survive in this market. Equipment costs are high as well as materials, cost of living and the Chinese competition making things tougher. But even with all those difficulties you can still see very successful companies that are doing well and are surviving in this market. Our goal is to help those companies by making it easier to acquire cutting edge equipment at affordable prices

Dan: How about globally? How do you see things globally?

Meir: As the PCB market becomes a true global market, we are committed to working with customers all over the world including North America, China, Korea, Vietnam and Brazil. We are doing everything we can to bring our many years of experience, doing whatever it takes to make sure that all PCB companies have the best equipment that their budgets can afford. We are always on the lookout for machines and parts that we can buy and then reselling them to our customers at affordable prices. Wherever companies have a need for high technology equipment at affordable prices we will be there to provide them. And when these same companies need this equipment updated and maintained they will be able to rely on us to do that for them.

Dan: Do you have any last comments you’d like to add?

Meir: I believe that we can make the PCB market a better place for all board fabricators by providing them with the high-technology equipment that they need. Our goal is to change the used equipment market in the USA by bringing it to a level where our customers and potential customers will be comfortable buying the pre-owned, refurbished equipment at prices that will fit everyone’s budget.

We are committed to helping our customers not only buy the best equipment possible at the best prices possible but we are also focused on protecting those customers who have invested millions of dollars in new equipment only to find the equipment worthless when the OEM pulls the licenses or discontinues certain models a few years later to the point where they will no longer support and maintain that equipment. We want those customers to know that we are there for them. We can help them with the refurbish and repair of this equipment and we can maintain it as well. By working together and by supporting one another we can make sure that all PCB companies have the best equipment in the best working order for many years to come regardless of what the OEM does to them. Artnet Pro is there to protect their investment for them.

Dan: Thanks for taking the time today. I appreciate it.

Meir: My pleasure, Dan.

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