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SEL Unveils New Printed Circuit Board Factory
July 3, 2023 | Schweitzer Engineering LaboratoriesEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to showcase its new printed circuit board factory in Moscow, Idaho. The factory is the latest investment in vertical integration by the 100 percent employee-owned global leader in products and solutions that protect and control electric power systems.
Idaho Governor Brad Little, Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and SEL President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III, were among those to provide remarks. More than 130 guests attended the celebration, including government officials from Washington and Idaho, business partners, community members, and SEL employee owners.
“I’m excited by the opportunities that are going to exist in this building,” said Governor Little. “The fact that Ed made this an employee-owned company; the fact that we [Idaho] will keep an atmosphere of opportunity, of education, of quality of life…all the employees and the contractors who were critical in this will choose to stay here in Idaho for this generation and the next.”
The $100M, 162,000-square-foot facility is one of only a few printed circuit board manufacturing facilities to be built in the U.S. in the last decade. The operation, which began production this March, is on target to become one of the top 10 producers of printed circuit boards in the U.S. by next year.
“With this new facility, Dr. Schweitzer and SEL are once again leading the way—not only for our region, but for our entire country. It’s a perfect example of what’s possible when the seeds of invention are able to grow freely without federal regulations holding them back,” said Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers. “It also means more jobs and new opportunities for Eastern Washington that will help us usher in a new era of American innovation and win the future. Congratulations to Dr. and Mrs. Schweitzer and the entire team at SEL for beginning this next chapter in their remarkable success story.”
The advanced manufacturing technologies in the facility enable SEL to strengthen its supply chain for printed circuit boards, a critical component of the electronic devices it manufactures in Pullman, Washington; Lewiston, Idaho; West Lafayette, Indiana; and Lake Zurich, Illinois. It also allows SEL to use highly automated processes that are quality-focused, efficient, and environmentally friendly. SEL recently received the 2023 Environmental Excellence Award from the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry in recognition of this commitment to clean manufacturing.
The ceremony also included a dedication of the 150 acres of land the facility is located on as Schwartz Campus. The property is named in honor of Ron Schwartz, the first SEL vice president of Quality, who worked at the company from 1998 until he retired in 2015.
“Ron and I worked on our first quality program at my dining room table back in 1984,” said President and Chief Technology Officer Edmund O. Schweitzer, III. “There’s no way that SEL would be as successful as we are today, without Ron’s initial guidance on quality and him leading us into World Class Manufacturing .”
Following the ceremony, attendees had the opportunity to tour the factory and learn about the printed circuit board fabrication process.
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