GMI Fall Newsletter

General Microcircuits Newsletter | Fall 2011 Issue
	Stan Cox Retires from GMI – President Emeritus GMI’s president, Stan Cox, became “President-emeritus” on October 1, 2011. In his new role he maintains an office at GMI and will be called on for his expertise. Stan joined GMI in 1982. Over the years he has worn many hats but in every position the hallmark has been his steady and influential leadership. He has been the “rock” that all at GMI has leaned on over the years. Stan created an environment that empowered associates and provided an atmosphere where people look forward to coming to work. He had a constant faith in his vision for GMI to be a leader in the evolving world of electronics. Stan took a fledgling company of less than a dozen employees in a converted hair dresser’s shop to a multinational company with more than 140 employees in multiple locations. He guided the company from a traditional pin-in-hole, domestic manufacturer to an international and state-of-the-art company. Succeeding Stan as President/CEO is David G. Dalton, who has been with GMI for 21 years. His most recent position at GMI was Executive Vice President of Sales/Marketing.
	GMI’s Value Throughout the Product Lifecycle GMI has morphed into a full-service advanced manufacturing electronics company. Now with manufacturing capabilities in Asia, Latin America and the southern United States, GMI has fully deployed its risk-avoidance model for manufacturing services. Calvin Ward, Vice President of Global Supply says, “Our goal is to offer our customers the operational and supply chain support so they can concentrate on the engineering and sales side of their businesses.” Historically, GMI has engaged with customers at any time during a product’s life cycle., In most cases GMI is introduced to a new company during the innovative growth phase of a new product, assumes the manufacturing role during the mature phase of the production cycle and lends support and end-of-life services during the harvest (legacy) phase. GMI has a proven track record of supporting its customers every step of the way.
	Consider Costa Rica – Work and Play When considering a lower cost solution, consider the Costa Rican attributes: • Proven track record (4th largest high tech exporter in the world), • Qualified workforce (96% of country is literate; 50% speak English), • Strategic location (direct flights from most major Eastern US cities, including Charlotte), • Excellent business climate (proactive economic development groups – CINDE, AmCham, Procomer), • Quality infrastructure (free trade zones), • Quality of life (Costa Rica; need we say more?), • Strong education system (number one investment by federal government), • Mature health care system (universal health care), • Political stability (standing democracy). Please contact GMI at sales@gmimfg.com or 704 235-3308 to explore if your product is a fit for our Costa Rican capabilities. Or, contact ddalton@gmimfg.com to learn more.
What's New at GMI
	Costa Rica Update GMI’s strategic placement in Costa Rica is paying dividends for its customer base. One customer responded, “I want to thank the GMI team for your efforts in expediting our PCBAs for us in Costa Rica. Your efforts will allow us to build and ship several critical month-end orders. We appreciate your support and dedication.” David Dalton says, “GMI’s objectives in offering a near-coast, low-cost geography as an alternative to our Asian model were to: 1) decrease production lead-times while maintaining low-cost region pricing; 2) guarantee consistent quality; 3) improve responsiveness and 4) simplify logistics.” Early returns substantiate all four objectives. Nick Harris, GMI’s Vice President of Global Operations adds, “This past decade Asia was a great solution for our customer base; in recent years we have seen a need for a transition or alternative solution to alleviate some cost points for some of our customers’ projects. We expected to begin with modest complexity assemblies, but we learned within a few months the skill set and experience of the Ticos (Native Costa Ricans) surpassed our expectations.” GMI’s Board of Directors recently approved the purchase of AOI and X-ray equipment so the transition of much more complex assemblies can occur. To date, more than 45 projects have been successfully qualified and transferred to Costa Rica’s San Jose Valley.
	GMI continuous IRE (Investment / Renovation / Expansion) – Preparing for the 5S + 1 Within the past two years, GMI has undergone an amazing internal face lift. GMI has invested in new equipment and replaced older equipment, added new square footage and renovated older areas. In addition, GMI launched an aggressive schedule to implement a shop floor management tool which will offer management dash board controls and evolve GMI into a paperless work place. Finally, GMI has aggressively pursued energy efficiency and environmental sustainability projects under its IS014001 initiative. All of these efforts were to set the stage for our next initiative: 5S+1. The five S’s represent Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standard and Sustain. The +1 S that GMI has emphasized since the company’s beginnings 31 years ago – SAFETY! (0 time lost due to safety related incidents). SORT means that you remove all items from the workplace that are not needed for current production operations. The principle is “only what is needed, only in the amounts needed and only when needed”. SET in Order means arranging needed items so that they are easy to use and labeled so that anyone can find them and put them away. The key here is eliminating waste in motion, searching, human energy, excess inventory, defective products and unsafe conditions. SHINE is the removal of dirt, grime and dust from the workplace. The key is to turn the workplace into a clean, bright spot that is in top condition and a place where everyone will enjoy working. STANDARDIZE is the method we use to maintain and integrate the first three pillars. The fifth pillar is SUSTAIN; this means to make a habit of properly maintaining correct procedures. It takes a dedicated, empowered and disciplined staff to sustain and maintain the 5s platform. Now that GMI has its facility optimized, GMI plans on launching the 5S+1 initiative this current fiscal year.
	Going Paperless and Shop Floor Tracking GMI recently completed the second part of a three phase implementation of Aegis’ Manufacturing Operations Software (MOS). This was effective in fulfilling one of the primary 2011 operational objectives. GMI has implemented the Aegis’ software strategy to improve efficiencies and quality by streamlining and controlling process planning and launch, process tracking and control, and quality and test management. Factory information visibility and process-wide control is core to competitiveness. GMI utilizes technology to connect data to all of our factory processes and equipment. The deployment has streamlined placement and AOI machine programming, introduced standardized paperless documentation to the factory floor, product and route tracking, route sequence enforcement, inventory location visibility, job status visibility, AOI and test data collection, diagnostics support, real-time monitoring, data retrieval/visualization, and historical reporting. The Aegis’ software system enables GMI engineering to automate the distribution of information to operator workstations in sufficient detail for quality product building. This system has already produced direct benefits to GMI and our customers. Users can now determine where any work order is located throughout the factory in real-time. Customer service often depends on delivering the information they need when they need it. Aegis allows program managers to track WIP status and provide predictive job completion times. This is important to GMI customers. Quality has to be built into any manufacturing process. The Aegis software collects data in real time, providing GMI with the information necessary to build the product correctly, verify its quality during production and facilitate corrective actions. This data is also available for reports, visualizations, and real-time dashboards that can be configured and used by GMI to constantly improve quality and efficiency. With Aegis, GMI has instant visibility of the process and product. GMI continually improves its processes to be more efficient and provide its customers with the best quality, delivery, and costs.
	GMI’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Capability Just a few years ago GMI’s response to customers on their repairs and returns was embarrassingly lacking and inefficient. The numbers of days those repairs were at GMI were excessive. GMI management decided to revamp the area by empowering a group of associates who became accountable and responsible for the entire program. The first step was to isolate the group from production. The second was to invest in a MRO module that was fully integrated into GMI’s ERP system. This module linked in crucial areas that allowed the tracking of item history from initial production or receipt to the final shipment back to the customer. This ability provides our customers with valuable information regarding the history of repairs, change orders and rework, down to the serial number level. Knowing this history of an item by serial number can help determine inherent problems and solutions, avoiding further costly repairs. The results have been miraculous. GMI’s in-house days have consistently outperformed management’s targets and as a result have challenged management to raise the bar and reduce even further the average number of days in-house before shipping back to its customer.
	Growth in Clean and Sustainable Energy Since a global energy company approached GMI to help launch their electronic Wind Energy initiative in 2001, GMI has produced multiple electronic assemblies within the clean energy sector, whether it is for smart grid applications, LED lighting solutions or energy monitoring devices. Currently, GMI estimates 65% of its revenue is generated within this segment and that at least 50% of its customer-base sells into this market. Jay Handley, GMI’s Vice President of Business Development, says, “GMI divides the energy sector into four quadrants: energy creation, energy distribution, energy monitoring and energy consumption. We have been fortunate to diversify and offer service to all four segments.” We expect to see great growth potential in these segments for years to come.
Spotlight
	Customer Spotlight: Nexgrid In the energy world there’s been a lot of talk about the coming Smart Grid. GMI has been able to work with a Smart Grid company that has logged amazing achievements in the development of interactive energy technologies. That company is called Nexgrid. This firm produces real-time two-way communication to manage, monitor and control the smart electric distribution grid. Nexgrid’s products and services help organizations that are critically dependent on energy stability and reducing cost. Products from Nexgrid provide seamless metering, load control, outage and restoration management, smart home, two-way messaging, real-time pricing and even video surveillance. The company’s COO, John Espey, is GMI’s key contact. He says, “Our communication gateways and end device communication modules are the foundation for secure management and monitoring of meters and intelligent end devices. Our customers are better informed and able to manage their network in ways never possible before with energy data to make production or budget decisions. We make those decisions achievable.” Why is immediate and accurate energy information important to an energy user? As our use of energy increases there is a greater need to conserve so power companies can avoid using higher-cost options to produce electricity. If an energy user can avoid using energy at the times when it costs most, that company can save money. There’s a Nexgrid system in use by the City of Manassas, Virginia. Here’s how Nexgrid’s performance was described by Gregg Paulson, Deputy Director – Electric, City of Manassas: “The critically hot summer of 2011 was a major test for our grid management. Our system typically calls 12 critical peaks per year. In a recent critical peak event managed through the Nexgrid software, we found that we saved enough money in one critical peak to pay for 10 percent of the incremental cost of the equipment that facilitates the load shed. We actually project a 10 to 12 month payback period on our Nexgrid investment in communication infrastructure related to load control.” GMI considers its work with Nexgrid just a part of our contribution to helping use energy wisely. GMI is proud of this relationship and looks for more innovation from Nexgrid!
	Nick Harris recounts 31 years of Advanced Electronic Manufacturing Nick Harris, Vice President of GMI’s Global Operations, is the company’s longest tenured employee. He had a chance to sit down with Bob Lazzara, president of the local chapter of SMTA - Surface Mount Technology Association. Following are excerpts of their conversation. B: What differentiating advantages do you see that separate GMI in the marketplace? N: One major advantage we have is being management-owned. The average length of service for our management team is 23 years. For all our associates, the average length of service is 15 years. We pride ourselves on this stability. This enables us to react swiftly and confidently to market conditions and specific requests from customers. We have evolved our business model to fit our customers’ needs and trends. B: You’ve been with GMI for over 30-years, an impressive tenure in an industry that witnessed technological, environmental and market upheaval. In your experience what has singularly been the most significant cause of change in electronics manufacturing? N: To say a lot has changed over the past 31 years would surely be an understatement. Obviously there have been a lot of technological changes. My cell phone has a lot more capability than the PC we purchased back in the early 80’s to run our business. It had a whopping 10 meg hard drive in it. RoHS has certainly brought its share of change. The biggest change I have witnessed has been customer expectations. Not so much from a quality standpoint, our customers have always expected great quality, but from a facilities and capabilities standpoint the bar has certainly been raised from what is was in 1980. B: How has GMI responded to that change? N: GMI has been fortunate to be in a position to make investments in our operations. In my position I have operational responsibility. Having an ownership group that has been willing to make these investments has allowed us to grow the business. If GMI looked today like we did in the 80s and 90s, our business would not be growing. There is so much more to this business than soldering parts on boards. It takes supply chain, finance, customer service, IT and operations all working together to make it happen. B: GMI recently opened a facility in Costa Rica. How are things progressing? N: GMI de Costa Rica has similar equipment to what we have in Mooresville. Our Costa Rica facility began operations in May of this year; our initial intentions were to begin with some modest assemblies, progressing over time to more complex assemblies. To be honest, we underestimated the skill and experience levels in the San Jose Valley region. As a result, our Board gave approval to purchase X-ray and AOI equipment to equip our team down for more complex assemblies sooner than we had thought. Once this equipment is in place, they will be equipped to place BGA and QFNs. There are no real traditional EMS companies there. For our domestic customers, unless there is an ITAR or some other restriction that requires the product to be produced here, we plan to transition the assemblies that have higher manual labor content to Costa Rica. Final assembly or box build is also a good fit for Costa Rica. B: Similarly, GMI offers offshore sourcing. When does offshore manufacturing become appropriate, and can you tell us a bit about that service? N: We have been utilizing Asian partners since 2003. We have a partner in Seoul and another partner that is headquartered in Taipei, with a second facility in Shanghai. Both are extremely capable. There are two scenarios when Asia can be an option for our customers. If a customer has assemblies that they can accurately forecast, those assemblies are a candidate for Asia. The other scenario is when our customer establishes an operation in Asia. In that event, it makes a lot of sense to move the printed circuit assembly to one of our partners there. Product is shipped from our partner directly to our customer’s Asian facility and to GMI to support our customer’s domestic operation. B: Will GMI de Costa Rica result in lost jobs in Mooresville? N: No. We have 125 associates in Mooresville. In 2003, before we began utilizing our Asian partners, we had 85 associates. Our plan is for our employment level to continue to grow here. B: Do you expect to be doing less in Asia when GMI de Costa Rica comes fully on line? N: That one is not so clear. Obviously we will keep projects in Asia for our customers that have manufacturing operations there. Projects that were a slam dunk to do in Asia back in 2003 may not be today. This is due to several factors like economic conditions. Some of our clients seem to have a more difficult time these past few years getting their customers to provide them with solid forecasts. Second, there has been a rise in logistics costs. Third, Asian labor markets have become less stable and more expensive. Overall, folks realize that the all-in cost of sourcing in Asia doesn’t always work out for their situation. The simple price may be lower, but the total landed cost can now add up. B: GMI is promoted as being able to “…take projects from concept to completion.” In general terms, how is that managed? N: Smoke and mirrors (chuckle). Actually there is one huge reason … our great associates. We have great people here. Each customer is assigned a program manager, project engineer, and buyer. This team of three becomes the primary conduit to the customer. We’ve been in business long enough to know that you solve issues with and for your customers, so we really like our customers to visit and spend time with more than just the management team so that we can apply as much creativity to their needs or the opportunity at hand. In addition, we have a robust ERP system to manage the material and we use Aegis to manage documents and control the shop floor. B: GMI attributes success of its capabilities to an “overall solution approach”, one said to handle production of any scale. Tell us about that. N: That is the essence of our model. With our Mooresville operation, our Asian partners and now GMI de Costa Rica, we can take a product from cradle to grave. We have done the NPI on a lot of projects here and then transitioned the volume to one of our low-cost geography solutions in Asia. Doing this since 2003 means some of these volume projects are now at their end-of-life portion of the product cycle. Those are now coming back to Mooresville because end-of-life doesn’t play well in a low-cost geography. B: Nick, 30-years in the industry is remarkable. 30-years with the same company are fantastic. I want to close this interview with your thoughts of where you see GMI 5-years from today. N: Being with the same organization for 30 plus years is certainly the exception today. I have been truly blessed to work with some extraordinary folks. I’m also fortunate that my fellow owners have been willing to put up with me for this long. I can be a lot to put up with. In five years I want GMI to be in its 36th consecutive year with zero lost time accidents. That is another point of pride. I see us being for the most part, very much the same as we are today; only bigger and sustaining our flexiblity to changing market trends.
	GMI Board Chairman Dalton Knighted by France The French Government presented Rufus M. Dalton, GMI’s Chairman of the Board, and three other WWII veterans with its highest honor. The title “Knight” and “The National Order of the Legion of Honor” medal was bestowed on Rufus at a ceremony at the Duke Mansion in Charlotte. The medal, created by Napoleon in 1802, was presented to Rufus by Pascel Le Deunff, French Consul General of the six-state Atlanta region, for his part in the liberation from Germany. “We will never be able to give enough praise to the heroism of those who fought for the liberation of France and Europe,” Le Deunff told the gathering. During the war, Rufus was wounded by shrapnel to his head, but returned to his unit the next day. He was twice promoted on the battlefield, ultimately to Lieutenant. Weeks before the war ended, he and his brother, Bob, were reunited in the same unit. After VE Day in May 1945, they rode the same vessel back to America aboard a liberty ship called the USS Chapel Hill.
Special Focus
	CharlotteUSA – The New Energy Capital – Technology Development General Microcircuits has been active as a lead in the regional energy effort known as “Charlotte USA – The New Energy Capital.” The region has more than 200 energy-oriented firms and 27,000 employees in the discipline. More than ten organizations are active in the Technology Development Task Force. GMI plays a major role. The task force has met with officials of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to explore ways that regional energy firms can use the airport as a test bed for energy saving technology. This could involve Smart Grid technology, new kinds of energy efficient lighting or vehicular hybrid solutions, for instance. GMI sees this kind of effort as a way to pilot-test technologies in a real-life environment. Lessons learned in an airport application could then be rolled out to various other municipal and industry uses. If you have a product that is market-ready with an enhanced energy-saving technology application, please contact ddalton@gmimfg.com or check out http://charlotteusa.com/news-media/the-new-energy-capital/
	CLT – Economic Development Generator At one time all GMI customers travelled to GMI either by highway or country road. Within the past few years, GMI has seen more and more of its customer-base utilizing the ever-expanding Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT). With direct service to most major and mid-market cities in the US, nearly 700 flights daily, nearly 40 million travelers annually and with direct service to our San Jose, Costa Rica facility, GMI appreciates the airport’s accessibility and convenience enabling GMI to expand its reach much further than once perceived. Staton Williams, General Manager of our Costa Rica facility adds, “Direct service to San Jose from cities beyond Charlotte, like Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia broadens GMI’s coverage; we can now effectively support companies residing anywhere within the eastern half of the United States.” With a grin Staton said, “I had no idea 14 months ago when I elected to come down here that one of my job titles would be Tour Guide.” Staton says he has enjoyed showing off our new facility to existing and prospective customers and introducing to many for the first time the beauty and adventures that abound in Costa Rica. Staton concludes with, “Even a few of GMI’s suppliers from the states have slipped into our plant!”
	Get a Quote GMI has been amazed at the generation of new products being developed during this latest recession. GMI truly believes the companies that come out on the other end will be those who have invested in R&D and explored the emerging markets of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) phenomena. When your next project comes into view we hope that GMI will be your manufacturer-of-choice. Don’t hesitate to contact jhandley@gmimfg.com for further information or search www.gmimfg.com.
	Recent Visitors to GMI de Costa Rica Within recent months, GMI de Costa Rica hosted the Vice President of Costa Rica, Luis Liberman, the Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez, and the General Director of Cinde, Gabriela Llobe during GMI’s Grand Opening in Alajeula, Costa Rica. Click here for a short news release from their visit. In a separate visit, the U.S. Ambassador for Costa Rica, Anne Andrew visited the operation. With her background in Clean Energy, she was keenly interested in our focus in this growing sector. Click here for the embassy page and the video.
	SMTA – Carolinas Chapter On Thursday, November 17, the SMTA Carolinas Chapter meets in Morrisville, North Carolina. The meeting will be hosted at and by Juki Automation Systems, 507 Airport Blvd. Morrisville, NC 27560. Registration and networking begin at 5:30 p.m.; dinner is at 6:00 p.m. and the program begins at 6:30 p.m. Presentations will be from SMTA's very-own Dr. Dan Baldwin, and SIPAD System's President, Matt Kehoe. The cost is $20 for members and $30 for guests. Come hungry as this is a well-catered event. Please RSVP to http://www.smta.org/chapter/carolinas. Several from GMI will be there.

General Microcircuits, Inc Opens Costa Rica Facility

The Charlotte Region’s General Microcircuits, Inc. Becomes First Clean Technology Manufacturing Company in Costa Rica

- Company´s new operations create opportunities for growth
- Initial investment exceeds US$2 million

Alajuela, Costa Rica – August 3, 2011: Manufacturing advanced electronic circuit board assemblies takes center stage today as US-based General Microcircuits, Inc., [GMI] officially opens its San Jose facility. Considered the first Clean Technology Manufacturing Company in Costa Rica, this new plant will initially employ approximately twenty Costa Ricans and measures approximately 1,300 m2 (13,993 sq. ft). The facility is located in the Free Trade Zone BES in Alajuela, with start-up phase cost exceeding US$2 million.

Since the company first announced its decision to set up operations in the country last December, it has spent the last eight months up-fitting its plant. In May, the first products rolled off the production line. Since then, weekly shipments have been sent to GMI’s Mooresville, NC USA facility for validation and distribution. When fully operational the Alajuela facility will produce more than 100,000 assemblies per month.

According to Costa Rica’s Vice President Luis Liberman, the electronic assemblies that the company manufactures play a vital role in the wind turbine industry. This is precisely one of the areas defined, less than a year ago, as priority in the country´s foreign direct investment attraction strategy.

“Certainly, for a nation such as Costa Rica, catalogued as one of the world leaders in environmental protection, foreign direct investment specialized in the production of clean technology equipment and components is a consequence of the world renowned respect that the country has for sustainable development” added Liberman.

General Microcircuits has built its success on strategic and balanced growth. According to Dave Dalton, Senior Vice President of the company, “We believe as we grow our facility in Costa Rica, we will continue to expand our operation in North Carolina. The model is set. In 2003 we successfully transferred some manufacturing with high volume and stability to Asian facilities. This improved our price competitiveness and attracted new business.”

After its move to manufacture some parts outside the US, General Microcircuits was able to expand employment in its North Carolina facility. GMI added jobs in materials controls, program management, logistics and engineering.

Since 2005, GMI has seen an increased demand in green and energy efficiency products. Currently, 50% of its customers are within this sector and 65% of its revenues are generated in this sector.

The company is increasingly a player in assembling environmentally-friendly LED lighting and Smart Grid products. “LED lighting offers the world a cleaner, brighter more efficient light lasting for a longer life than its predecessors. LED lighting production takes precision and skill. The delicate LEDs must be applied to the electronic circuit without compromising the LED’s lens,” said Dave Dalton. He says special care starts with the tight controls of the manufacturing process, a particularly strong trait of GMI.

Smart Grid devices are becoming more prevalent in today’s society. Dalton adds, “Smart Grid technology and demand are evolving faster than most other technologies. GMI has demonstrated the ability to help their clients launch these new products to the market and make quick adjustments when necessary.”

Staton Williams, General Manager of GMI Costa Rica said, “We are pleased to be new members of the Costa Rica business community.” We are impressed with the work ethic and skill level of the associates in our operation. Also, throughout the process of searching for a site, building and staffing our plant, at every turn our requests for assistance have been met with an abundance of genuine support from suppliers, neighbors, government agencies and our employees."

Foreign Trade Minister, Anabel González explained that the production of clean technology components, such as the ones being produced by GMI, will certainly become part of the manufactured products value chain, one in which Costa Rica has successfully incorporated.

“Furthermore, the news of GMI´s arrival has been well received by other multinational companies in the Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing sectors in Costa Rica. They understand the potential this company has to eventually become a component supplier for their own products” said the Minister.

Said GMI's Staton, “Our company likes Costa Rica because we all think alike. We all understand the value of doing high quality work with high quality people. That is the foundation for success.” Staton pointed out the 95% literacy rate among Costa Ricans as one of the first traits that attracted the company to the country.

Dave Dalton pointed out that Costa Rica´s proximity to the US East Coast helped make the country a logical place for manufacturing. “Many of our customers who need to be on-site for important manufacturing activities can take direct flights to San Jose. Also, shipments from Costa Rica to the US can be delivered by sea inside seven days, a fraction of the time that Asian plants need to ship by sea to the eastern and central US.”

“The pro-business environment supported by Procomer and Cinde makes the location enticing for industry. “These organizations understand how business operates and they provided important services to GMI as we began our operation” “It is unimaginable to us that we can be operating in a new country inside of two years; CINDE and Procomer led us, encouraged us and connected us to Costa Rica; we are gratefully indebted.” said Dalton.

About GMI:

General Microcircuits is a global electronics manufacturing company providing electronic circuit board and integrated assemblies to manufacturers in diverse industries and applications. The focus is to design and manufacture electronic products for greater reliability, manufacturability, testability, and lower cost. GMI provides domestic and offshore manufacturing capabilities to meet its customers’ needs and volumes.

Founded in 1980 and located 20 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina, General Microcircuits serves customers in all segments of the energy, industrial, commercial, telecommunications, medical, defense and evolving market-sectors.

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GMI Hires Soldering Process Engineer

Mooresville, NC (09/20/2010) – General Microcircuits, Inc. (GMI) has hired Phil Biron as their Soldering Process Engineer. Biron comes to GMI with more than 25 years of industry experience. As a Field Service Engineer for both Hollis Automation and Speedline Technologies, Biron gained valuable expertise that will greatly benefit our customers.

Biron’s responsibilities will include the organization’s Wave, Convection Reflow, Vapor Phase Reflow, and Selective Solder Processes for Mooresville, NC and San Jose, Costa Rica.

On Biron’s joining the GMI staff, Nick Harris, VP of Operations stated; “Phil will be a great addition to the team. We always appreciated and respected Phil as a supplier. He was our FSE for Hollis back in the 80s and more recently Electrovert. Having him on board will allow our other PEs to focus more on other process areas.”

Evaluating selective solder machines to determine the platform best suited for the North Carolina and Costa Rica facilities will be a primary objective of Biron’s.