Category: News

Is Africa the new frontier? In this interview, I speak with Paul Benke, CEO of Zero Defects International, about trends in automation, the apparel industry, and perhaps a manufacturing move into one of the world’s largest continents. Will it be in our lifetimes?

Nolan Johnson: Paul, what are the trends in the industry and how does this compare to the last 30 years?

Paul Benke: It’s probably the same answer that most others would give—automation in all facets of our industry around the globe. As much as we’ve seen, there’s more to come.

Johnson: Are there particular areas where automation is not getting traction or a large amount of success?

Benke: Our focus is on testing and inspection, and we work with companies like Viscom in terms of X-ray and AOI. We also see developments in in software, applications of AI are becoming popular among our competitors. Another area that’s been talked about for a few years now in the assembly world is components storage and inventory and retrieval. While there was a lot of talk about Smart cabinets, not much happened in the way of trend commercial activity. Now, even better are Smart racks that think probably as well as you and I do. They really take care of automating the component management and assembly systems.

Johnson: They take that human element out of out of the overall process.

Benke: Right. That results in better efficiency, less loss of inventory and better inventory control.

Johnson: Test and inspection, though, does seem to be a great place for automation. AI is good at finding patterns that we don’t, and there’s a lot of data to be analyzed. That sort of insight can easily turn from data into analytics in that space pretty pretty well. Are the customers embracing it? How are they responding to this AI work in testing inspection?

Benke: I may not be the best expert to answer that, but my observation is that there’s not a stampede in that direction, but I think it’s inevitable. Like other topics, it’s in the early stages of discussion and implementation. In the next few years, you’ll see a heck of a lot more in place.

Johnson: You’re in a place where you hear people talk about what’s going on. What other new developments do you see over the horizon in the next five years?

Benke: I see changes in the geopolitical sense. Particularly in the Far East, the volatility of our relationships, and maybe even including some aspects of Europe, will change. Venues may change. I’m not a technologist, so I can’t address that standpoint, but from what I read and what interests me, not a day goes by that you don’t read about India and Vietnam.

Johnson: It’s true these countries are emerging as potential venues for manufacturing.

Benke: It’s fascinating and it’s not just our industry, either; it’s all sorts of things that move around, like clothing. Let’s not forget Mexico. I think that maybe the best is yet to come. We haven’t seen much happen in the continent of Africa yet, but maybe in our lifetime or maybe not, but it’s there.

Johnson: It’s interesting that industries like apparel and shoes move into markets such as Malaysia, Vietnam, India, and create a dynamic of building more reliable infrastructure—from electricity, water, and sewer treatment, to a higher education level to do the work. It seems like technology follows apparel into those markets now that there’s a stable infrastructure, and a workforce that can be more skilled and more technical. They seem to run parallel.

Benke: I’ve never thought of it in those terms, but that does make sense.

Johnson: The question really is: When will you move into Africa? Is that next?

Benke: I think so, I really do.

Johnson: At that point, we’ve pretty much touched everywhere. As you look back over your time watching this industry, is there hope for us?

Benke: I think so. It depends on who’s looking at it. In North America, we’re approaching new levels. I don’t necessarily see a surge of manufacturing returning, but I do have a positive outlook for the country, its resiliency, and ability to compete in the world.

Johnson: Absolutely. Paul, thank you for your insights.

Benke: Great talking to you, Nolan.

SILICON VALLEY – Zero Defects International [ZDI] has announced their participation as an exhibitor at the SMTA Oregon Expo and Tech Forum. It will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland South. The date of this event is Thursday, June 8, 2023.

Foremost among the PCBA test and inspection products and services to be shown will be ZDI’s flying-probe ICT test services including reverse engineering and failure analysis. Additionally featured are ZDI partners’ PCBA products including Europlacer SMT assembly equipment, Tagarno digital microscopes, Arcadia smart component racks, Epoch International’s functional test fixtures, Seica flying probe and ICT test systems as well as Velan’s PCB and PCBA engineering software services.

Zero Defects International [ZDI] has announced their participation as an exhibitor at the SMTA Boise Expo and Tech Forum.

It will be held at the Downtown Grove Hotel. The date of this event is Tuesday, April 11. The address of the Grove Hotel is 245 South Capitol Boulevard, Boise Idaho.

Foremost among the PCBA test and inspection products to be shown will be Viscom’s AOI, X-Ray and SPI inspection equipment. The Viscom display will include updates on the very latest enhancements for each of these products. Also featured will be Europlacer’s PCBA surface mount equipment.

Additionally, ZDI will have information on their flying-probe test services as well as reverse engineering and failure analysis services. Those attending include Michaela Brody, President and Paul Benke, CEO as well as Viscom sales manager Barbara Koczera. Other ZDI partners, for which information will be available include Velan, Tagarno, Epoch International, and Arcadia.

SILICON VALLEY – Zero Defects International [ZDI] has received notice of compliance with and renewed registration for ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulation. The continuation of this conformance status enables users of each of the two ZDI services to maintain access to both services. The first is the outsourcing of printed circuit board [PCB] front-end engineering CAM services. This continues to be a very popular practice within the North American printed circuit board manufacturing industry but access to specific product design and technical information requires that ZDI and applicable users operate within parameters set by ITAR.

The second of these services involves the printed circuit board assembly [PCBA] testing that ZDI performs for customers in Silicon Valley as well as for companies in all regions of the United States. ITAR compliance is essential in order to utilize the necessary engineering data for test purposes.

Silicon Valley: Zero Defects International [ZDI] has announced their participation as an exhibitor at the SMTA Rocky Mountain Expo and Tech Forum. It will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. The date of this event is Wednesday, March 15. The address of the Sheraton is 1550 Court Place, Denver, Colorado.

Foremost among the PCBA test and inspection products to be shown will be Viscom’s AOI, X-Ray and SPI inspection equipment. The Viscom display will include updates on the very latest enhancements for each of these products.

Also, ZDI will have information on their flying-probe test services as well as reverse engineering and failure analysis services. Those in attendance include Michaela Brody, President and Paul Benke, CEO as well as Viscom sales management personnel, Barbara Koczera and Ed Moll. Other ZDI partners, for which information will be available, include Europlacer, Velan, Tagarno, Epoch International, and Arcadia.

Zero Defects International

Silicon Valley: Zero Defects International [ZDI] has announced their participation as an exhibitor at the new Anaheim Electronics and Manufacturing Exhibition [AEMS] to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California. AEMS is a sister event to the popular and well attended DMEMS show held annually in Del Mar, California. Dates of the show and conference are November 16th and 17, 2022. ZDI’s booth number is 240.

Among the printed circuit board assembly [PCBA] products to be shown are Epoch International design-to-assembly electronic manufacturing services, Tagarno digital microscopes, Arcadia intelligent component storage and dispensing racks, and ZDI’s own PCBA contract test and inspection services.

ZDI personnel attending include Michaela Brody [President], Berto Miranda [Operations Manager] and Paul Benke [CEO]. Joe Birtola, Epoch Sales Manager, will also attend as will Bob Conti of RCA Marketing.

Zero Defects International (ZDI) has announced Epoch International’s participation as an exhibitor in the 2022 Del Mar Electronics and Manufacturing Show. This exposition will be held May 4-5 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, California.

Epoch’s exhibit, in Booth 109, will feature the company’s electronic contract manufacturing capabilities in both the Fremont, CA and Dalian, China facilities. As a strategic partner, ZDI will have personnel joining the Epoch exhibition team for each day of the show.