A Progress Report: Investing in U.S. PCB Fabricators
December 19, 2023 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
In the geopolitical arena, the supply chain lessons learned during the pandemic continue to be addressed with long-range plans as well as short-term stopgaps. In this conversation, David Schild, executive director of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA), provides a progress update on the U.S. CHIPS Act, and some of the fan-out dynamics already playing out. As David explains, there is new investment in PCB fabrication that has nothing to do with the CHIPS Act.
Nolan Johnson: David, we’ve recently seen investment news for Calumet Electronics and TTM. In Calumet’s case, the cash is coming from DoD and the state of Michigan; in TTM’s case, it’s an internally funded project. What is the larger story here?
David Schild: This is a signal that the industry is willing to put its money where its mouth is, and that governments at both the state and federal level want to help. I’m very happy to see this, but it underscores that this is just two companies and millions of dollars, when we need to be talking about dozens of companies and billions of dollars.
We’re thrilled that Calumet has announced funding from both the state of Michigan and the Department of Defense to expand their organic substrate capabilities, and DoD-specific capabilities in the state of Michigan. TTM has announced a greenfield initiative to produce UHDI PCBs adjacent to its existing Syracuse facility. The industry is not sitting still. We're willing to actually invest dollars, but it won’t put our manufacturing in a competitive position until we have government support.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the December 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Simbe Partners with Plexus to Scale Manufacturing and Meet Global Retail Demand
05/08/2024 | Globe NewswireSimbe, the leading provider of Store Intelligence™ solutions that increase retailer performance through unprecedented visibility and insights, today announced a partnership with Plexus Corp. to bring its best-in-class retail robotics-as-a-service to market quickly and at global scale.
AIM Solder Signs Shinil Fl Ltd. as New Distributor for Korea
05/08/2024 | AIM SolderAIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, is pleased to announce a new distribution partnership with Shinil Fl Ltd., a prominent supplier of technological solutions in the SMT and semiconductor sectors.
Altus Equips SSTL with Advanced Cleaning Technology for Electronics
05/07/2024 | Altus GroupAltus Group, a leading supplier of capital equipment for the electronics manufacturing industry, has announced the successful installation of an advanced PCBA cleaning system at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL).
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Innovative Lamination Technology
05/07/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOKevin Barrett of Insulectro and Victor Lazaro of Indubond discuss their companies' partnership, focusing on Indubond's innovative lamination technology that uses induction heating. They discuss the advantages of this technology over traditional methods, its benefits to customers, and the crucial role of automation in manufacturing.
Indium Corporation to Showcase HIA Materials at ECTC
05/07/2024 | Indium CorporationAs an industry leader in innovative materials solutions for semiconductor packaging and assembly, Indium Corporation® will feature its advanced products designed to meet the evolving challenges of heterogeneous integration and assembly (HIA) and fine-pitch system-in-package (SiP) applications at the 74th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), May 28‒31, in Denver, Colorado.