Category: Uncategorized

“It’s no secret the US PCB industry has been playing catch-up for the past 20 years, and Insulectro is going all in to do our part,” stated Patrick Redfern, Insulectro CEO and President.

“It’s exciting to join our other founding members and colleagues – AGY, Calumet Electronics, Isola Group, Summit Interconnect, and TTM Technologies – in making a statement about the need for change in our industry.

            “PCBAA seeks to promote an environment in which U.S.-based printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers can thrive. The organization values the market fairness and a level playing field on which U.S. PCB manufacturers can compete against competitors subsidized by foreign governments,” Redfern continued.

            “To find out more about PCBAA, go to PCBAA.org. You can follow the organization’s progress, mission, and apply for membership,” Redfern concluded. “Join us. We are going to make a difference.

Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC® Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech Chemicals, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials, Shikoku, Shur-loc, Kemmer Praezision GmbH, Industrial Brush Corp, and Denkai America. Most recently high-performance lamination presses from InduBond® have been added to the product line.

These products are used by Insulectro customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, printed electronics, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America in “customer-near” distribution centers, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

For further information, please contact:

John A. Lee

Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Insulectro

949.587.3326   [email protected]

“Insulectro Printed Electronics has had a fantastic year distributing DuPont conductive inks and pastes and a wide array of best-in-class substrates,” announced Tim Redfern, President of Insulectro Printed Electronics, “Because of the wide variety of substrates offered and our intention to aggressively market them, I am pleased to announce Jeffrey Crawford coming on board. Jeff comes to us from DuPont Specialty Products where Jeff enjoyed a 21-year career in a variety of key positions. His last six years at DuPont were spent supporting Tedlar® PVF Films, a protective surface product distributed by Insulectro.”

Crawford received his MS degree in chemistry from Drexel University. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Shippensburg University. He is the author of many academic papers and shares a patent on Spin Printing of Electronic and Display Components. During his time at DuPont, Crawford held positions ranging from Materials Scientist, Application Development Specialist (Tedlar®) to Technical Sales Business Development Manager.

“Jeff is the right guy at the right place and right time for Insulectro,” enthused Insulectro Vice President of Sales Kevin Miller. “He has a thorough knowledge of substrates and meshes his science understandings with business development. We look forward to seeing where Jeff can take us.

“With over 20 years in the industry, Jeff has a unique ability to look at problems in different ways. He’s a Six Sigma versatile and efficient professional with leadership training and experience.” Miller concluded.

The company offers products from such premium brands as DuPont (Dupont Teijin Films™, Intexar® wearable stretchable ink systems, Tedlar®, and Kapton®), Coveme, Kodak, 3M, Saint-Gobain, TCI, Sabic, and Chemours. Products include a diverse array of polyester materials, polyimide, FEP, PTFE, and PFA. Insulectro also offers its own line of polycarbonate products under the Clarity™ brand.

In addition to inks and substrates, Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech Chemicals, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials, InduBond®, Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

For further information, please contact:

John A. Lee

Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Insulectro

949.587.3326   [email protected]

Insulectro has announced major changes in its corporate structure, effective today.

Twenty-one year Insulectro veteran Ken Parent has been promoted to a newly created position of Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for both sales and operations announced Patrick Redfern, Insulectro President and CEO.

“Ken has proven his ability to lead by example, speak up for those who have challenges, encourage his teammates to be their best, and develop talent from within as well as recruit from outside. His vision inspires everyone as he drives incredible results with passion and enthusiasm,” Redfern commented. “He is widely known and respected throughout our industry and has contributed significantly to the strategic direction of the company.

“Ken is the first guy to get on a plane to meet a customer or supplier partner. Currently, he is crisscrossing the United States on a 30-day tour to our distribution centers meeting with customers as he goes. He knows how our industry works at every level, and he is tireless in his work to make it better,” Patrick Redfern stated.

Prior to his promotion, Parent has led both the sales and product management teams.

Redfern continued, “Our announcement today includes the upcoming retirement of Insulectro’s current Vice President of Operations Jeff Mason in February of 2022.  Jeff, a twelve-year teammate, helped bring our operational visions to life and provided insight and expertise to drive our companies forward.  He has demonstrated his drive for continuous improvement and his passion for people consistently during his time here and will be missed.”

Succeeding Mason as Vice President of Operations is Jason Shuppert, current Head of Supply Chain. Since joining the Insulectro team three years ago, Shuppert has demonstrated continual success building a Supply Chain department focused on mitigating the negative impact of disruptions in supply and demand.

Shuppert’s extensive background in Supply Chain Planning includes Operations planning, Forecasting, Demand Planning, Supply Planning, Inventory Management, and other facets of the supply chain.  He has held senior leadership positions with several large companies including ARYZTA, LLC.  Ventura Foods, Land O’Lakes, IPS, and Kimberly Clark before coming Insulectro.  

“Jason has built a strong team that has really benefited our customers. We both share the same vision for what ‘world-class manufacturing,’ operations, and supply chain should look like for our companies,” Redfern stated. “He has the pulse on what’s happening with product availability, and understands our customers’ need to receive materials as rapidly as possible. In his new role, Jason will be able to further impact our service model. Shuppert will report to Ken Parent.”

Assisting Shuppert, Felix Martinez has been promoted to National Director of Operations overseeing Insulectro’s operations in all our branches. Martinez has demonstrated strong leadership in the Lake Forest distribution centers as well as coordinating several transitions for recent acquisitions.

Redfern concluded, “Today’s announcements, all internal promotions, are another step forward for Insulectro, in enabling our customers to build better boards, faster. With such a great team, the future seems unlimited.”

Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials (Ormet®), Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, InduBond®, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

For more information, contact:

John A. Lee

Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Insulectro

[email protected]

949.587.3328

“I am pleased to announce the promotion of Insulectro’s Michelle Walsh to the position of VP – Product Management,” commented Patrick Redfern, Insulectro President and CEO, “Michelle has had a long career of 22 years and counting at Insulectro and has been extremely effective working with our supplier base and managing our Product Management and Pricing teams. She has been a tireless “go-to” resource for customers and our sale team.”

Walsh joined Insulectro in 1998 and has held many roles including Technical Service Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Business Analyst Manager, Product Manager for multiple Chemistries and DuPont products, and most recently as Director of Product Management.

Walsh joined DuPont in 1988 as a Process Engineer supporting the manufacture of DuPont’s Stairmaster® Carpet Fiber. She transferred from Waynesboro, VA to California in Technical Service for DuPont before being named Technical Sales Manager in 1998. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.

“The promotion of Michelle to VP of Product Management is well deserved,” commented Ken Parent, Vice President of Sales, “She has shown distinctive leadership with our internal teams and is well respected by our suppliers.  She is expert in understanding the properties of our ever-expanding product line and a key participant in the development of Insulectro’s corporate strategic plan. This promotion is another step forward for Insulectro, in enabling our customers to build better boards, faster.”

“I please to promote Michelle from within our companies and congratulate her as she takes on her expanded role,” Redfern concluded.

Walsh will remain based out of Insulectro’s corporate headquarters in Lake Forest, CA.

Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials (Ormet®), Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, InduBond®, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

For more information, contact:

John A. Lee

Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Insulectro

[email protected]

949.587.3326

“Today we are announcing Insulectro will acquire ECEMS headquartered in New Hampshire,” Insulectro President and CEO Patrick Redfern commented, “This is an exciting opportunity to bring new complimentary product lines into Insulectro’s robust material offerings and to continue the distribution chain of East Coast Electronic Material Supply.”

ECEMS is a regional Distributor for DuPont Process Chemicals and Imaging Film (Utah and eastward), Hubbard Hall waste treatment chemicals, AGFA Silver Film, Kyocera Drills, and All4PCB handling and manufacturing equipment. They also offer drill entry and backer material, lubricated press sheets, and a variety of drill room products, plus, opportunities in chemical milling, and general metal finishing.

ECEMS President John Robinson praises the acquisition, “ECEMS and Insulectro share a similar culture to enable our customers to build better boards, faster. All of our customers can expect to benefit from greater synergies as the respective companies’ strengths and talents are blended. I look forward to new opportunities created by this action.” Robinson will join the Insulectro team as Vice President of Chemistry reporting to Ken Parent, Vice President of Sales and Product Management.

Parent commented, “We welcome John and his team to Insulectro. This acquisition is an important one for our company. Among the other offerings, the DuPont chemistry line significantly advances Insulectro’s goal to offer a complete roster of materials used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. We continue to enjoy a long-term relationship with DuPont, as distributor for flexible laminates and dry film in North America, and this merger allows us to further serve our best-in-class supplier’s needs while expanding service to customers – existing and new. “

“We look forward to continuing distribution of non-competitive products previously offered by ECEMS,” Patrick Redfern continued, “The ECEMS team will be joining our teammates in our Londonderry, New Hampshire, distribution center while taking advantage of our company’s 11 stocking locations in North America.”

“Expect to hear more from us about this exciting new market opportunity for Insulectro and its customers” Ken Parent concluded, “World-class products from world-class suppliers, delivered at breakneck speed from regional distribution centers, coupled with ‘always there’ customer service – it really is about enabling customers to build better circuits faster.”

Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech Chemicals, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials (Ormet®), Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, InduBond®, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

For further information, please contact:

John A. Lee

Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy

Insulectro

949.587.3326   [email protected]

Insulectro, the largest distributor of materials for use in manufacture of printed circuit board and printed electronics, has announced it will distribute InduBond® lamination presses and supplies manufactured by Chemplate Materials SL of Barcelona, Spain.

“Today we are announcing Insulectro will begin distributing the complete InduBond® equipment product line in North America beginning today,” Insulectro Vice President of Sales and Product Management Ken Parent commented, “This is an exciting opportunity for us to bring these world-class presses to our customers – in particular the X-PRESS 360 lamination press which is Chemplate’s flagship offering. It is one more example of Insulectro’s laser focus on supplying our customers with the best product offerings – materials and equipment – available.”

InduBond® has long been respected for tight accuracy in registration, its lamination presses, automation (automatic loading/unloading), and its eco-friendly best practices.

InduBond® X-PRESS lamination presses utilize a different way of producing the heat required for lamination using standard pressing methods. The innovation of this technology is that it produces heat on the laminated material, and only the laminated material, of each layer of the press pack at the same time, at the same temperature level, without any thermal conduction.

That feature means the press pack heating is perfectly uniform in all directions. Consequently, all the layers of the laminates inside the press have the same temperature profile at the same time. With our induction technology, heating speed is increased, and high temperatures can be reached. Insulectro will also stock replacement parts and consumables for InduBond® equipment.

“Chemplate Materials SL looks forward to this new association with Insulectro in North America,” stated Victor Lazaro Gallego, Technical Director and InduBond® inventor at Chemplate Materials, S.L. “We find Insulectro’s innovative approach to sales and service to be a perfect match for our company’s values and products. The goal of our current strategy is the global market as a key element in the company`s growth. And that is why we want to keep innovating and providing the industry with new technologies that set us apart from our competitors and increase the knowledge and acceptance of the InduBond® commercial brand internationally.”

Chemplate Materials SL was established in 1986 in the electroplating business. Nowadays is a company focused on manufacturing equipment for registering PCB multilayers with an innovative process, covering the registry and the press process. They have developed a technology with a big growth potential and continuously upgrade it. They also sell chemical processes for electroplating and PCB manufacturing.

In 2020, IPC EXPO conferred an INNOVATION AWARD to the InduBond® X-PRESS line in the category of PCB FABRICATION for the concept in multilayer press technology of utilizing electromagnetic energy to heat stainless steel separator plates.

“Expect to hear more from us about this exciting new market opportunity for Insulectro and its customers” Ken Parent concluded, “World-class products from world-class suppliers, delivered at breakneck speed from regional distribution centers, coupled with ‘always there’ customer service – it’s all about enabling customers to build better circuits faster.”

Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech Chemicals, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials, Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.

Insulectro will host an OEM FORUM on Thursday, November 5, at 11:05 am Pacific. The topic is ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT WITH ACCURATE DESIGN DATA. The FORUM will be conducted on the ZOOM teleconferencing platform.

Join this 45 minute (or so) session to learn how timely PCB fabrication and assembly can maximize reliability and yield. The session is hosted by veteran technical account manager Ron Murdock and will feature Insulectro co-panelists Mike Creeden and Chris Hunrath.

An immensely popular team, Creeden (CID+  MIT and Technology Director for Design Education) will present the design argument while Vice President of Technology Chris Hunrath CID+ will reinforce with material science perspectives. Hunrath and Creeden have been teaming up for several recent webinars and lunch’n’learns gaining enthusiastic responses. They are Better Together!

This Forum should be of particular interest to OEMs, engineers, and designers looking for superior results from PCB materials. Registration is required to join the sessions and attendees will need to access the Zoom application or website to participate.

Phoenix, Arizona based Automated Chemical Solutions announces it will be acquired by The Redfern Companies. ACS is a leader in specialty chemical and process control manufacturing for the printed circuit board and general metal finishing industries.

“ACS looks forward to this next step in our evolution,” commented Scott Campbell, ACS founder and President. “The new ownership will bring unprecedented opportunity for growth and expansion. The Redfern Companies are very active in the PCB industry with an extensive portfolio of resources. I cannot imagine a more perfect fit for ACS and our employees. I look forward to personally continuing with the new company; helping it continue to grow and provide cutting edge solutions to our industry.”

ACS was founded on the belief that chemicals and control systems must work together to provide the most consistent and efficient manufacturing processes and has always taken a process control approach when formulating chemical products. Today, ACS is the only supplier to the PCB industry that designs and manufactures both process chemicals and control systems. Products include cleaners, etchants, developers, and strippers, among others, as well as all associated control systems.

ACS is known for responding quickly to customer needs and evolving technology by providing custom chemical formulations and controller designs tailored to the specific requirements of a given process. ACS manufactures products under both the ACS and Focus Tech brand names.

“I am excited to welcome the ACS team to our family. Scott, who will remain President, has been a respected leader in chemical process controls for over 30 years,” stated Patrick Redfern. “This acquisition provides a platform for growth in specialty chemicals and demonstrates our long-term commitment to PCB imaging. We are passionate about helping our customers build better boards faster.”

Campbell concluded, “The best teams have great chemistry! Glad to be joining Team Redfern!”

Automated Chemical Solutions’ process chemicals and control equipment are distributed by Insulectro, the leading distributor in North America of materials used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards and printed electronics.

Insulectro, the largest distributor of materials for use in manufacture of printed circuit board and printed electronics, has just rolled out its new on-line shopping center for conductive inks and pastes <www.insulectro-pe.com> plus advanced substrates and films.

“Insulectro takes a major step in its digital transformation with the launch of a brand-new e-Commerce website developed from the ground up and launched during the COVID-19 pandemic,” announced Tim Redfern, President of Insulectro Printed Electronics, “New customers will now be able to navigate our full offering of Printed Electronics materials, get detailed product data, search by material composition and/or application. Once a product(s) is selected a customer can then choose quantity and desired format (sheets, rolls, container size) and add the product into their virtual shopping cart.”

The company offers products from such premium brands as DuPont, Coveme, Kodak, 3M, Saint-Gobain, TCI, Sabic, and Chemours. Products include a diverse array of polyester materials, polycarbonate, polyimide, FEP, PTFE, and PFA.

“Insulectro also will distribute DuPont’s renowned portfolio of conductive inks and pastes organized on our site by application and composition,” add Kevin Miller, Vice President of Sales for Insulectro’s PE efforts. “A customer looking for silver inks suitable for touch membranes switches can find and place an order in two clicks. Applications vary from RFID to high stretch applications (wearables) and in-mold electronics.

“Customers will see immediate pricing, volume discounts, shipping costs, taxes, after finetuning their purchases using drop down menus from which they can select quantities or sheet or rolls if shopping for substrates,” Miller added.“

Insulectro Printed Electronics distributes products in addition to PE materials such as DuPont™ Tedlar® PVF films used to protect surfaces exposed to harsh environments. Getting attention due to the pandemic is Sabic’s Lexan™ thermoplastic polycarbonates easily shaped and molded into many applications including PPE (personal protection equipment) like face shields. Insulectro will also offer a new sourced line of materials – Insulectro Clarity™ Polycarbonates significantly expanding its offerings.

“The website is designed to be user friendly, informative, and easy to navigate,” Tim Redfern stated. “The site aims to balance having detailed product and market data, important to engineers with educational content and visually pleasing graphics of our products in real-world applications. Like many in our line of business you may expect a very industrial looking site that is stark or sterile. But what you’ll find is innovative design that breaks new ground. I invite you to explore the site and enjoy its unique attributes.

“And purchasing on the site is secure. Purchase transactions will be processed by Shopify®, a global leader in managing internet transactions and known for being fully compliant with all regulations and secured credit card transactions,” Redfern continued.

“Our e-commerce site <insulectro-pe.com> is one example of how Insulectro is looking to the future using technology to streamline and automate our distribution processes. You will be hearing much more about things we are developing and implementing to help our customers enhance their businesses,” Redfern concluded.

In addition to inks and substrates, Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by Isola, DuPont®, LCOA®, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Focus Tech Chemicals, JX Nippon, TADCO, EMD Performance Materials, Shikoku, Denkai America, Industrial Brush Corporation, Kemmer, and Shur-loc. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards and to manufacture printed electronics components. Insulectro serves a broad customer base manufacturing rigid, rigid/flex and flexible circuit boards for applications in a variety of end markets including aeronautics, telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical. Insulectro combines its premier product offering with local inventory across North America, fabrication capabilities and backed up by expert customer and technical support services.