Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Marcy's Musings: The Growing Industry

After more than two decades of steady decline in the U.S., the PCB industry is finally growing in the West thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, DoD funding, and hopefully, the passing of HR 3249, the Printed Circuit Board and Substrates Act. The U.S. is now in a race to regain what was lost and then some.

But what does “growing” look like for the organizations that have received DoD funding, and for the rest of us? To get a picture of what’s happening in the industry today, we start with M&A specialist Tom Kaster and IPC Chief Economist Shawn DuBravac, who kick off this issue by providing expert insights on the state (and sustainability) of industry growth in the U.S., especially as it relates to investment capital and as interest rates remain high. Also in this issue, Alex Stepinski of Smart Factory Design provides hope for continued growth with disruptive news that launching a PCB fab in the U.S.—one that is mil/aero capable—may be far less expensive than we think. (Stay tuned, as this will be discussed in detail in May PCB007.) The voices of our industry can be heard in an interview with Tom Edman of TTM, who discusses TTM’s planned UHDI facility expansion in Syracuse, New York; a Q&A with Shane Whiteside of Summit Interconnect, who shares his thoughts on our growing industry; and an article by Lea Maurel of ICAPE, which provides a thorough overview of the PCB growth landscape.

There are many aspects to growth. So, check out my interview in the April 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine with IPC’s lead lobbyist Richard Cappetto, who talks about the increasing importance of advocacy in the U.S. economic environment for the printed circuit board supply chain, take a moment to read Travis Kelly’s PCBAA column, “What About the Rest of the Technology Stack?” Learn more about IPC Validations Services, which, after 11 years, has 140 companies able to verify they meet or exceed the written IPC standards. Finally, IPC’s Joe O’Neil gives an important update on the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) research and development facility, the Printed Circuit Board Market Catalyst (PBMC)—what it is and what it will offer the PCB industry after it’s built.

As usual, our columnists have shown up with force. Don Ball of Chemcut finishes his two-part series on reducing etch system water usage. Henry Crandall offers a compelling and personal column on the criticality of reliability in medical electronics as he takes us through the birth of his child and a malfunctioning sensor. Material scientist Preeya Kuray provides an excellent discussion on Dk, and Happy Holden uses his Tech Talk series to finish his coverage of power mesh architecture.

Last but not least, I know you’ll find value in our new series of audio interviews entitled “Young Professionals,” featuring the next-generation workforce in the varying areas of our industry who are crushing it. Workforce remains one of the biggest topics in our industry today, whether we are discussing work-force training, culture, or knowledge transfer. In this episode, you’ll meet Jennifer Robinson of TTA.

Finally, many of us are just arriving home after a week in Anaheim at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. It was a full week and I-Connect007 was there. Make sure to visit our video and photo site, realtimewith.com, to see what you may have missed; and stay tuned for our 2024 Show & Tell Magazine in a few weeks. And when you find something in this issue that resonates, please share it with your friends and colleagues.

This column originally appears in the April 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine.