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Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
A Conversation with... PNC Technologies' Sam Sangani
Sangani: Quality is our strength. We have invested a great deal of time and money in quality. We are fully qualified and registered for the following: ISO9001-2008, UL (FR-4 and polyimide), MIL-PRF-55110, MIL-PRF-31032, ITAR, MBE/WBE, NMSDC, SDB-Minority Owned, and Small Business. We are completely committed and dedicated to the bare board industry and being qualified to all of these specs and registrations allows us to market ourselves to a wider range of end-markets.Beaulieu: What makes you stand out from your competitors?
Sangani: We feel our continuous improvement makes us stand out from the rest. Over the last two years we've invested nearly $2.5 million in upgraded equipment, which has brought consistency and continuity to our processes--improving our quality through higher yields. Another area we stand out in is responsiveness to errors. Every company has its miscues, but whether it’s due to our processing or not, we'll find the root cause and implement a solution quickly.
Beaulieu: Are there any particularly interesting stories about the challenges you've faced and how you overcame them?
Sangani: Of course there have been challenges over the years. PNC has gone through many audits, from small to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the Department of Defense. We use the audit results as a way to improve our manufacturing and administrative processes.
We were asked during an audit from a Fortune 500 company if we performed pre-part approval process (PPAP) Level 1, 2, 3, and 4. At that time we did not. For PNC to be added to that company's AVL, we needed to prove we were capable of providing this quality check before being considered an approved vendor. We did our research and worked side by side with our prospective customer’s quality group to be educated in the formalities of PPAP. We now are proud to say we can perform up to Level 4 PPAP.
During another audit we were quizzed with regard to first in, first out inventory control with our laminates. Our system was to always stack the oldest laminate on top of the new. The auditor made a suggestion to develop a color-coded sticker system for incoming raw material with dates received. We took the suggestion and now use the system for all incoming material whether laminate, core, or chemistries.
We are constantly evolving due to customer audits, continuous improvements, employee training, etc. Changes are vital for growth and advancement within the industry and we have shown our commitment to implement ideas from our employees and customers.
Beaulieu: What's your opinion of the market today? What are the biggest challenges?
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