Interesting Times in the PCB Industry

Stanley Bentley, dsi President

The current state of the PCB industry reminds me of the old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times". At a recent industry association meeting, I had the opportunity to compare notes with some of my counterparts in the PCB industry.

There is little question that times are difficult for fabricators. As I listened to the discussions, I was increasingly thankful that the structure of dsi and the business plan we are following is almost a survival plan for our industry. We take no pleasure in the troubles of our competitors because I believe that the high mortality rate is not healthy for our country.

Economists may argue that supply and demand will always try to balance. However, I believe that in the Darwinian equation one must also factor in national interest. I may be a dinosaur, but I have never believed that the success of our nation is built upon "services". I think they are more like the icing on the cake. If we have a successful vibrant manufacturing economy, then services (finance, information, "dot.com's", etc.) can provide opportunities and wealth. I do not believe that they alone can provide the standard of living we wish for ourselves and for our children.

Our industry is beset with contradictory needs. To thrive, we must continue to invest in new technology. Inherent in that investment will be a corresponding increase in capacity that is not presently needed. Yet to survive, we must conserve cash. Should we invest scarce resources when our survival is threatened? The short answer is, "yes".

I liken the situation to an airplane short on fuel approaching a mountain. Over the mountain there is fuel, but you know of none short of the mountain. Your options are to reduce power, conserve fuel and prolong flight while hoping to find fuel short of the mountain. Or, you can increase power to go over the mountain not knowing if your fuel will last. My counsel to my counterparts is to increase power. While not everyone who tries will make it over the mountain, they will have at least given themselves the chance for success.

I am perhaps biased in this opinion since it follows the history and business plan of dsi. Our strategy has always been to try to steer a course between the prototype shops and the production shops.

We look like a prototype shop because we match their speed of delivery. We look like a production shop because we have all of their certifications and can produce medium volume quantities. Basically, we provide production quality at prototype speeds; but, simply being fast and good is not enough to survive in today's market.

More than fifty years ago, Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds, proposed that there are three elements of a successful business: Quality, Service and Value.

I fully agree, but I think there is a fourth, Technology. In spite of the overwhelming urge to conserve cash in these difficult times, dsi has made the decision to continue to pursue technology and make investments based upon the needs of a recovering economy.

This newsletter is part of that program. In this issue, we will introduce topics of interest in the industry. Later issues will deal with these topics in greater depth. Our hope is to share with our customers the course we have chosen to steer and provide them with the insight they need to properly choose the technology that best fits their needs.

Lastly, dsi and its employees are unabashed advocates of buying American. We fully understand that we are in a global economy. Many of our competitors are foreign, and we certainly export whenever possible. However, our goal is to provide tools that allow American manufacturers to keep more of their production in the USA. While some products are a perfect fit for low labor costs, many are not.

We believe that the real battle is total cost of "Enterprise", not just piece part price. Our goal is to help customers understand that cheap labor is not a cure for poor execution. Time to market, flexibility, exceeding customer desires, reduction of stranded inventory, totally dynamic supply chains.

These are the real elements of success-QSVT-Quality, Service, Value, Technology.

Stanley L. Bentley

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