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TTM CEO Tom Edman on the Process of Strategy

For this issue on strategy development, we sought input from Tom Edman, CEO of TTM Technologies. He’s been at the helm for almost 10 years and has overseen quite a few major changes in that time. In this interview, we asked Tom to discuss what goes into planning a successful strategy, how to narrow down the perfect strategy for your company, and why the boss shouldn’t bear the entire responsibility for this strategy. It needs to be a team effort.

Hiring for Soft Skills in Technology

In the age of digital transformations and disruptions, many technology companies continue to amaze us with ever increasing capability and the breakneck speed of development. But beneath the surface, nearly every one of those organizations is made up of teams of employees who are tasked with delivering better results year after year. Technical capability is no longer enough to achieve long-term success. Soft skills are now a key factor in distinguishing high performing organizations from those that struggle, and their effect is far reaching.

Supporting the New Workforce: An Interview With Joe O'Neil

IPC Community celebrates member success while sharing the important work done within IPC to better serve its members and the entire global electronics manufacturing community. But who will take us into the future? How do we prepare the next generation of industry professionals for the needs of today’s consumer, industrial, and defense bases? Joe O’Neil, chair of the IPC Education Foundation, shares his vision for developing that pipeline of new talent entering the electronics industry.

TQM: So Much Larger Than Quality

Sit down to a conversation with industry pioneers like Happy Holden and Dan Feinberg, then add TQM proponent Barry Matties to the table, and continuous improvement eventually becomes the topic. In this roundtable discussion, the group turns to the subjects of legacy and the impact of TQM on quality, management, and business operations.

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

In 1971, David Bowie released his album “Hunky Dory.” One obscure track (at the time, at least) on that album, “Changes,” would slowly evolve into a Bowie signature piece, stutter and all. As time went on, his admonition for us all to “turn and face the strange” carried more and more weight in popular music and popular culture. Of course, a cover of “Changes” which was featured in the movie “Shrek 2” caused the song to peak again in 2004, 33 years after it was first released. Just a little reminder that change is a constant.

Sunstone and American Standard: A Sum Greater Than Its Parts

American Standard Circuits’ CEO Anaya Vardya and Sunstone Circuits' vice president and general manager Matt Stevenson took a break from the company transition to talk with I-Connect007 about why the merging of these two leading industry brands is so important—for both customers and the two respective companies.

A 21st Century Perspective on Data, Analysis, and TQM

Chris Chapman is a Deming management method practitioner and consultant who publishes “The Digestible Deming” blog on Substack. Chris has been a student of Deming’s agile, Lean, and related methods since 2007. With his software and data background, he brings something of a 21st century perspective to quality. In this conversation, we explore how data and AI might be changing how we approach quality.

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

This week, we have news about APCT’s acquisition of San Diego PCB Design, and PCBAA’s continued push to impress upon Congress the need to support electronics manufacturing in the U.S. Steve Williams breaks down the details behind Lean manufacturing, TQM and Six Sigma. Columnist Tim Haag explains how he learned to design advanced and complex PCBs. And Nolan Johnson has a great interview with Daniel Barish of Celanese, who discusses some of the company’s latest low-temperature co-fired ceramics and their advantages.

Celanese: Fired Up Over Ceramics

With the ever-increasing diversity of performance needs in printed circuits, substrates are an ongoing area of development and innovation. At IMS Microwave Week, we caught up with Daniel Barish, a global strategy and west commercial leader at Celanese, to discuss substrates, low temperature co-fired ceramics, in particular.

Lean vs. TQM vs. Six Sigma

Lean, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Six Sigma are three popular methodologies used in business and manufacturing sectors to improve processes, increase efficiency, and reduce waste. While they share some similarities, each approach has its unique focus and tools. Here's a comparison of Lean, TQM, and Six Sigma.

Recollections on Deming

In the early 1990s, I was working for EMD Associates, an EMS company (now a Benchmark Electronics operation in Winona, Minnesota), when I became familiar with Dr. W. Edwards Deming. EMD was an early entrant into the SMT provider world, and we were very focused on quality. Deming was one of several experts that we used as a guide for our company. As part of that journey, I was able to attend a live Deming seminar in Phoenix. There were several speakers as part of his team, but Deming, who was at least 90 years old at the time, spoke in very memorable fashion each day on key topics.

Team Players: A New Industry Leadership Council Seeks Sustainability Solutions

The work on sustainability in electronics at IPC continues and a new leadership council is one result of those efforts. In March 2023, IPC convened a Sustainability for Electronics Leadership Council to offer peer review and direction to IPC. The council is a response to the industry’s requests for more attention on environmental, social, and corporate sustainability in IPC’s industry standards, education, and advocacy.

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

Holy mackerel, dear readers, you’ve been reading the good stuff this past week. I won’t need to steer you toward any of the must-read (but sometimes overlooked) content because your collective reading habits (as measured by clicks and reads) gravitated to the same things as I did. This week’s picks include an interview from IPC Community magazine on sustainability, two pieces on space travel technology, a new partnership between two well-known companies in our industry, and the July market report from IPC. Keep reading to see what I’m talking about.

How You Know You’re Working With a TQM Company

We spoke with Tim Rodgers, PhD, a senior faculty instructor at the University of Colorado (Boulder) and an expert in supply chain about a wide range of topics. In this excerpt, I ask Tim how to determine whether a company in your supply chain follows TQM practices. His well-informed reply leverages his years of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry.

Hiring With Leadership Style in Mind

Is your leadership style helping or hurting your hiring results? The influence of leadership style on hiring practices is often underestimated, yet it plays a significant role in the long-term success of any business. The costs associated with hiring and onboarding a new employee can easily exceed their annual salary, not to mention the future impact their performance can have on the organization. So, prioritizing the hiring process and approaching it with careful consideration is crucial.

Solving the Challenge of the Workforce Pipeline: A New Resource to Careers in Electronics

An aerospace engineer walks onto the job at $72,770 and can double their salary in just a few years. In fact, careers in the electronics industry can provide a sizable salary, but exactly how much will you make? A new resource from the IPC Education Foundation breaks down the most common career paths in electronics manufacturing, from operators to owners. What jobs are available? What does someone in the electronics industry even do?

Reduce Board Skyline With Solid Cavity Design

With the increasing shrinkage of modern electronics in both board size and product volume, it’s becoming more difficult to mount components to the PCB surface and still meet volumetric requirements. To avoid chip-on-board (COB) processing, board cavities can help mitigate the Z-axis skyline volumetric issues and allow for components that would otherwise not fit within the skyline to be used.

Zero Defects’ Paul Benke: Changes Are Coming

Is Africa the new frontier? In this interview, I speak with Paul Benke, CEO of Zero Defects International, about trends in automation, the apparel industry, and perhaps a manufacturing move into one of the world’s largest continents. Will it be in our lifetimes?

IPC Community Exclusive: The Ongoing Banking Crisis

On May 1, First Republic Bank became the latest addition to the growing list of failed banks, making it the third major bank to collapse in recent months. Previously the 14th largest bank in the United States, First Republic Bank now holds the unenviable title of being the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Silicon Valley Bank, which was the 16th largest bank in the country, and Signature Bank, the 29th largest bank in the U.S., also collapsed recently. These two bank failures mark the third and fourth largest bank collapses in history. Since the 1970s, more than 90 banks with assets over $1 billion have failed in the United States. Three of the four largest collapses have occurred in the past few months.

American Standard/Sunstone Merger: ‘We Want to Grow the Technology’

On July 13, 2023, American Standard Circuits announced the acquisition of Sunstone Circuits. I-Connect007’s Nolan Johnson connected with ASC CEO Anaya Vardya and Sunstone Vice President and General Manager Matt Stevenson to discuss this new partnership. They detail what the partnership means for each facility, how it affects management, sales, and suppliers, but mostly what the new benefits for customers.

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

This week’s must-reads follow the trend toward iterative and ongoing improvements and advancements. The must-know news this week includes coverage of SEMICON (based on reader interest), updates on the EU’s Chips Act and ongoing advocacy for the printed circuits sector, design tips from an aerospace engineer, and a PCB fabrication merger.

Burkle North America: Service With a Smile

It’s a given: Capital equipment, especially equipment that runs hard, will need service. The larger the installed base of equipment, the more service support that will be required. Burkle North America's Service Manager, Evan Howard, discusses how Schmoll’s service organization has grown in response to equipment sales in the region, a conversation that touches on hiring, training, spare parts logistics, and potential future growth. It’s clear that this company intends to keep its service team ahead of the curve.

PCB Technologies Invests in Advanced Packaging

Jeff De Serrano, president of PCB Technologies North America, gives an update on the company’s recent move into advanced packaging—a move that stemmed from company leadership and vision for the future. He also shares his forecast on the PCB market, specifically around rigid-flex, along with some of the challenges the industry still faces.

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

It’s been hot in PCB design and manufacturing this week! In this wrap-up, we have an article about safeguarding electronics manufacturing workers from hazardous chemicals, and another about additive processes’ green benefits. Kelly Dack discusses how to keep your design on the road through proper tolerance management, and Joe Fjelstad explains why the next big invention is just one step away from what currently exists, the “adjacent possible.” And Dan Beaulieu, never one to shy away from a controversial topic, explains why now is the time for your sales team to do some old-fashioned, in-person sales calls.

The Right to a Safe, Healthy Work Environment

As we enter a new decade characterized by global transparency, companies are increasingly compelled to prioritize the protection of workers, not only within their own facilities but throughout complex multi-national supply chains. Process chemicals are increasingly being viewed as a human rights issue, as millions of workers in the electronics global supply chain are using process chemicals. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Toxics (2018) reported that there are approximately 160 million cases of occupational disease reported annually across all industry sectors.
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