14 MiMfg Magazine May / June 2022
“ Instead of giving 100 percent of our business to one supplier , we now split the business between a few ,” says Thieme . “ We ’ re trying to maintain an 80 / 20 or 70 / 30 ratio , meaning our primary supplier still gets the majority of our business but we always want other suppliers as secondary sources .”
When facing things that are outside the norm , it helps immensely to have a culture that ’ s built around being agile and overcoming challenges . Daniel says that mentality is baked into the DNA at PVS .
“ The pandemic was an eye-opener but headwinds are presented every day , and our team focuses every day on how to get better ,” says Daniel . “ We manage by using data and facts . We try not to be emotional about the headwinds that are presented . Instead , we ask , ‘ What is the impact ? How are we going to overcome it ? What are we going to do ?’”
He adds : “ The pandemic didn ’ t drive that . That ’ s how we run our business .”
Thieme also gives a ton of credit to his team for being able to adapt , adjust and evolve the process to manage the sometimes daily disruptions .
“ We ’ ve had to adapt to the increased prices , increased lead time , and just suppliers not having enough people to keep up with the workload ,” says Thieme . “ I definitely feel for my supply chain team .”
The Onshoring Question
Anybody recently shopping for a new car has , more than likely , learned about the global shortage on microchips . These important semiconductors power everything from cars to manufacturing equipment and technology and more .
Calumet Electronics , a printed circuit board ( PCB ) manufacturer in Michigan ’ s Upper Peninsula , understands this issue better than most . Calumet has been fabricating circuit boards for over 50 years and is presently making the necessary capital and workforce investments to produce IC Substrates , a technology that is otherwise only produced in Asia , critical to interfacing microchips in electronic systems .
Get More ! Hear from PVS Chemicals ’ Jeff Daniel , Amigo ’ s Jordan Thieme , CAR ’ s Bret Smith and more at the MFG Forum in Ypsilanti on Tuesday , 6 / 14 / 22 . Join us for real-world solutions on supply chain issues that will propel your business to the next level . Reserve your seat today at mimfg . org .
June 14 , 2022 • Ypsilanti
Register Online
The pandemic was an eye-opener but headwinds are presented every day , and our team focuses every day on how to get better . We manage by using data and facts . We try not to be emotional about the headwinds that are presented . Instead , we ask , ‘ What is the impact ? How are we going to overcome it ? What are we going to do ?’
— Jeff Daniel • PVS Chemicals
“ We must be able to produce IC Substrates in America because chips don ’ t float ”, says Calumet COO Todd Brassard . Over his 20 years at Calumet , Brassard has witnessed many changes in the marketplace with most PCB production going overseas . Now , with OEMs experiencing the kind of severe disruptions that can happen when faced with a global pandemic , Calumet is seizing the opportunity to champion increased American production .
“ We should be able to build in America what we can design in America ,” Brassard said .
“ What we are doing is advocating for electronics manufacturing and being a light for the industry saying , ‘ We can do this in America . We must rebuild the U . S . electronics manufacturing ecosystem ,’” says Meredith LaBeau , CTO at Calumet Electronics . “ When you talk about semiconductors or chips , you have to talk about the ecosystem because microelectronics , especially the really advanced chips , need advanced substrates and circuit boards to go with them .”
Brassard explains that U . S . PCB shops currently lack both capability and capacity compared with their Asian peers . The most critical need is for U . S . shops to gain capability with investments in capital equipment and workforce for national security and to be globally competitive . Calumet seeks to enable the U . S . to manufacture the most advanced electronics systems in the world by plugging critical gaps in the ecosystem , doing so with the pride that the company is making a difference .
“ We are helping America rebuild a 20-year lost ecosystem ,” says Brassard . “ The U . S . can ’ t build the next generation of electronic systems without the advanced IC Substrates and circuit board that we ’ re producing . Presently , the supply of these critical components are exclusively held by producers outside the United States but we are helping to solve this problem . Even as a small business , we can make the difference by closing gaps allowing more advanced systems to be produced onshore in America .”
Smith says he sees more products being made in the U . S . and potentially less reliance on Asia because