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American Made Advocacy: PCBAA Member Profile With Frank Medina, Technica

In this PCBAA Member Profile, Frank Medina, president and CEO of Technica USA, shares his thoughts on what he's seen over his many years in the industry, what has changed, and how advocacy for the printed circuit board industry is making a difference in Washington, D.C.

As a supplier, what stands out in your many years in the industry?

Besides all the technological advancements I have observed in my 40+ years of being in the business, I saw for the second time what happens when government and industry don’t work well together.

I am originally from the Youngstown, Ohio area, which used to be steel country. Watching what happened to the PCB industry in the U.S. in the mid- to late-1990s and into the early 2000s was a repeat of what happened to the steel industry. It was frustrating because we didn’t get the support and cooperation of the government to preserve manufacturing as the backbone of our country. Our government began to enforce regulations that hampered our industry; many American companies just couldn’t compete and went out of business. Work moved overseas, chasing low wages and the big government subsidies offered mostly in the Asian countries.

What has changed in the past year?

Geopolitical concerns have driven this issue into the halls of Congress. With the supply chain risks generated by COVID and political uncertainty in other countries, lawmakers finally saw the danger presented by over-reliance on other nations. The CHIPS Act addressed chips at the top of the technology stack and now the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act is calling attention to the rest: PCBs and substrates.

We can’t afford to waste any more time debating whether our industry needs government support. PCBs are everywhere, from the devices we use in everyday life to critical infrastructure. To maintain our economic and national security, we need reliable domestic sources to protect that infrastructure.

How can we draw new workers into the industry?

Like most of the manufacturing verticals, we suffer from a generation of young people who don’t view manufacturing as a viable career choice. They were told it wasn’t important. But from my 40 years of personal experience, I can tell them that there are exciting challenges and many different roles one can play in this critical industry, especially as we begin converting our PCB manufacturing operations into Smart factories. PCBAA and our members need to push hard to attract younger workers. That infusion of energy will revitalize our industry and make us more competitive on the world stage.

What is your message to Congress?

I would tell them that supporting this ecosystem is a necessity, not a nice-to-have. Our economic and national security depends on how they legislate to support us. PCBs are in every electronic device you can think of. I was glad to see PCBAA formed to give this industry a dedicated voice in Washington. The more voices we get, the better our impact will be for the entire ecosystem: PCB and substrate manufacturing, assembly, and services for the OEM market.

This column originally appeared in the June 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine.