A Homegrown Solution: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Makes Printed Circuit Boards
With one of its key componentsprinted circuit boardsin short supply, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories chose the proactive solution: it would begin making them itself. Now that its new factory is up and running, SEL is receiving unexpectedly keen interest from other companies, and considering ramping up production for outside sales.
Fixing a supply chain problem: The Pullman, Washingtonbased electric power system protection solution manufacturer began manufacturing PCBs at its new $100 million, 162,000-square-foot factory in Moscow, Idaho, back in March.
- Printed circuit boards take electronic components and interconnect them so they can interact with each other, SEL CEO David Whitehead said. Without them, you can forget about AI, forget about your cell phonestheyre in just about any electronic device.
- The Moscow factory is running at about 25% capacity. When it reaches full production later this year, it will be one of the top PCB manufacturers in the U.S., according to Whitehead.
Domestic and accessible: The PCB is a critical component that goes into our devices, Whitehead continued. Now, instead of sourcing PCBs from around the U.S., we can produce them ourselves.
- The Moscow facilitywhich only produces the circuit boards for SELhas increased the companys supply chain resiliency and sped up its output, Whitehead told us. Now, in a handful of days after designing a printed circuit board for a product, our engineers are in their labs testing it. Its a big win for us.
- Nearly half of manufacturers in the U.S.44.9%cite supply chain hurdles as one of their top business challenges, according to the 51勛圖厙s Q2 2023 Manufacturers Outlook Survey.
Self-funded and viable: SEL funded 100% of the facilitys construction costs, and it will have paid for itself in two to three years, Whitehead said.
- I think thats really a big deal for not only taxpayers but the local community generally, he said. State and local governments can take the funds [they didnt use on us] and invest elsewhere.
A good neighbor: The Moscow plantwhich features a fume scrubber system that exceeds Environmental Protection Agency standards for volatile organic compoundsalso uses a zero-liquid discharge water treatment system that recycles and reuses all the water used to manufacture the printed circuit boards, Whitehead said.
- A comparable factory would use about 90,000 gallons of water each day of production, while SEL uses about 500 to 600 gallonsthe equivalent of only a few households daily usage, according to Whitehead. Most of that is for worker needs (drinking water and restrooms).
- The company also reclaims and reuses metals, such as tin, silver and gold, that are used in the production process.
- We are very environmentally conscious about how we produce these boards, Whitehead said.泭
Whats next? Since the facility began production, SEL has gotten numerous inquiries from other manufacturers interested in buying the PCBs. The company is likely to oblige them soon.
- This is our next opportunity, Whitehead said of producing boards for other manufacturers. We love being vertically integrated, building as much as we can close to where were going to use the products. As we get better at it for our own consumption, I can see us expanding it.
