A thwarted vacation provides lessons in the importance of timely communication, training and skilled staff.

Fabricators and designers must communicate about new technology to verify its viability.

More often than not over the past couple of decades, new technologies, processes and options we fabricators have been asked, begged or threatened to add to our repertoire of offerings were ones that could be best considered disruptive. What’s disruptive to a manufacturer may seem benign to the casual eye, as often the technology – or process – that is most disruptive is a simple one.

Shipping, Covid-19 and inflation challenges rival supply chain issues when securing capital equipment.

When I made my 2022 capital investment plan, I never thought it would be my 2023 capital investment plan. However, with a couple minor exceptions, equipment will be put in service during 2023, not this year as originally planned.

Will it be able to handle unforeseen events better than its predecessor?

Many are excited and working diligently toward enabling Factory (Industry or Tech) 4.0 to dramatically change their manufacturing and business environment, but maybe we should focus instead on Supply Chain 4.0, as that may change the manufacturing and business environment more – and not in a good way!

The pandemic taught us the importance of AI is not on the shop floor but in the ability of people to communicate.

As governments realize the importance of investing in domestic manufacturing, opportunities are coming for EMS firms and PCB fabricators.

To best help customers, suppliers must invest in dedicated software experts.

“Value add” is a term bandied about, especially when a business is in the process of selling its products or services to another one. Likewise, in manufacturing the term “capital investment” describes the process of a business selling its products to another. All too often, much less “value” is derived by the “investment.”

Working unconventional hours in remote locations disrupts business more than material shortages.

As we enter the third year of our pandemic-altered world, more chains are strained than just supplies. With people working remotely during odd hours, changing careers, or stepping out of the workforce altogether to care for loved ones, the basic chain becoming strained is communication.

A counterargument to cutting staff and inventory.

One of those rituals that takes place around this time is developing the business plan and related budgets for the new year. Deciphering the crystal ball, discerning optimism from reality in the sales forecast, determining budget capital investments and human resource needs, and so on, is always a complex task. The very unusual pandemic/post-pandemic world we are now in makes it even more so.

Haverhill, MA: Haverhill Massachusetts based IMI, Inc. a world recognized fabricator of substrates and printed circuit boards serving the demanding RF/Microwave, military, communications and ruggedized industrial markets, was featured in the October 2021 PCB007 Magazine. Peter Bigelow, IMI’s President was interviewed in the article titled “Managing Capital Expenditures: Not Just Machines Anymore”.