‘A Night of Happy-ness’ and 2020 Good for the Industry Awards

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The Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego was the site of “A Night of Happy-ness” on the evening of Monday, February 3, 2020. I-Connect007 transformed the Regal Ballroom into a cozy lecture hall with two key objectives: to award the I-Connect007 Good for the Industry awards, and to celebrate the life, achievements, and personality that is industry pioneer Happy Holden.

The evening started with cocktails and appetizers. Barry Matties served as master of ceremonies, setting the mood with a mix of humor and sincerity.

The headliner of the evening was Happy Holden, who shared his memories and reminiscences growing up, as a student at Oregon State University, and then as a true pioneer at Hewlett-Packard. Happy’s career brought him in contact with virtually every other luminary in the electronics and computer segments. Happy kept the crowd captivated with funny stories and interesting asides, right up to the scheduled Q&A session.

I-Connect007 was also pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s prestigious Good for the Industry Award. I-Connect007 columnists from various industry segments—including Design007, PCB007, SMT007, and Flex007—were recognized and celebrated for sharing their knowledge and expertise with the industry. This year’s recipients each contributed a minimum of 50 columns, articles, interviews, etc., since becoming I-Connect007 columnists.

Publisher Barry Matties said, “At I-Connect007, we believe being good for the industry means helping the industry improve cycle time, lower cost, increase yields, build better products, increase profitability, reduce waste, become overall more efficient, do things differently, and motivate and inspire others to do the same—all things that are good for the industry. These are things that we strive to do in our own business every day.”

Kiersten Rohde, I-Connect007 editor and columnist coordinator, stated, “It was an honor to recognize these columnists and all the work they have contributed to the industry over many years. They're an incredible group of industry experts and I greatly respect their commitment to education and knowledge-sharing.”

The entire I-Connect007 team congratulates these recipients and thanks them for being good for the industry.

>Check out photos from this event at our Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2020 site.

800+ Contributions

• Dan Beaulieu – “It’s Only Common Sense” – D.B. Management Group – PCB007

150+ Contributions

• Dominique K. Numakura – “EPTE Newsletter” – DKN Research – Flex007/PCB007

100+ Contributions

• Barry Olney – “Beyond Design” – In-Circuit Design (iCD) – Design007
• Steve Williams – “The Right Approach” – The Right Approach Consulting – PCB007

50+ Contributions

1. Michael Carano – “Trouble in Your Tank” – RBP Chemical Technology – PCB007
2. John Coonrod – “Lightning Speed Laminates” – Rogers Corporation – Design007
3. Tara Dunn – “Flex Talk” – Omni PCB – Flex007/PCB007
4. Joe Fjelstad – “Flexible Thinking” – Verdant Electronics – Flex007
5. Michael Ford – “Smart Factory Insights” – Aegis Software – SMT007
6. Jennie S. Hwang – “SMT Perspectives and Prospects” – H-Technologies Group – SMT007
7. Tom Kastner – “Punching Out!” – GP Ventures – PCB007
8. Istvan Novak – “Quiet Power” – Samtec – Design007
9. Ray Prasad – “SMT Solver” – Ray Prasad Consultancy Group – SMT007
10. Mark Thompson – “The Bare (Board) Truth” – Prototron Circuits – Design007

03/21/2023 | Christopher Bonsell, Chemcut

This year, I had the great opportunity to come to IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego as a contributing member in Chemcut’s booth. Being an exhibitor is always interesting because you never know what you will learn or who you will meet. Truly, it seems that every IPC APEX EXPO is an eye-opening experience. This was the second show I attended, and last year I was amazed to see how in-depth and interconnected the electronics industry is. Seeing how many different companies contribute to manufacturing today’s core technology never fails to impress me.

03/21/2023 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007

Investments, staffing, cybersecurity, and a peek into his crystal ball—John Vaughan, vice president of strategic markets at Summit Interconnect, sits down with Nolan Johnson to talk about it all. Business is good, by the way, thanks to Summit’s portfolio of military contracts, and he has sound advice to offer for smaller shops in the United States, and their real ability to make a difference in PCB fabrication.

03/21/2023 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management Group

I have always felt that automation has the potential to make a big difference in our PCB industry, especially domestically, where labor is at premium. For the past year, I have been looking for the story of how automation can and will make a significant difference in established PCB shops. I was fortunate enough to find that story in Multicircuits, located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Only a few short years ago, this company was considered a “plain vanilla” PCB fabricator holding its own in our industry; now it has suddenly assumed a true leadership position in the industry in terms of capability, technology, operations, and profitability.