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www.us-tech.com Family Businesses of the Electronics Industry Continued from previous page
Nihon Superior: Osaka, Japan In 1966, Toshiro Nishimura
started his own business to market the products of Superior Flux Mfg. & Co., imported by Matsushita Electric Trading Co., Ltd., and established Nihon Superior. Currently, there are three generations of Nishimuras working at the company: Toshiro Nishimura, founder and current chairman; Tetsuro Nishimura, presi- dent and CEO; and Takatoshi Nishimura, director of R&D.
well as in Asia and Europe, and by forming partnerships with compa- nies overseas.” There is a certain pride when
passing leadership on to the next generation, especially when the lega- cy will continue through a son and grandson. While Toshiro stepped down and passed the presidency to Tetsuro in 2004, his values are in- stilled in the family and the culture of the company. “We are committed to earning
our customers’ highest level of trust by taking full responsibility for every product we deliver,” adds Tetsuro. “We are ready to meet their rising demands for diversification, increas- ingly sophisticated technologies and environmental protection.” The company’s latest develop-
ment is SN100CV™ P608 D4, a com- pletely halogen-free, lead-free, no- clean solder paste. Unlike silver-con- taining alloys that derive their strength from a dispersion of fine
Three generations of Nishimuras. From left:
Takatoshi, Tetsuro, and Toshiro. “Since our inception, we have
made our mark by gathering the most advanced soldering and brazing technologies and products from around the world, and supplying them to companies in the metal-join- ing industry,” says Tetsuro. “Backed by our knowledge of these technolo- gies, we have developed into a global company by establishing manufac- turing and sales centers in Japan, as
particles of eutectic Ag3Sn, SN100CV gains its strength from solute atoms in the tin matrix of the joint. The paste provides excellent wetting and reduces voiding. Nihon Superior continues to
offer solutions to the challenges fac- ing the electronics industry, such as improvements in reliability, ther- mally stable joining, and lead-free die attach.
Virtual Industries: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Tom Mealey and Daren Palmer were strangers living an hour apart, 31 years ago. Tom was the production engineering manager at Sperry Uni-
Virtual Industries’
Daren Palmer (left) and Tom Mealey (right).
dinner. After that dinner, in the parking lot, Daren and Tom dis- cussed the possibility of going into business together. In the following months Daren,
Hal and Tom met frequently over pizza and beer, brainstorming ideas for industry products. They landed on an idea, based on a prototype
vac, a defense contractor, and Daren and his father Hal owned a manufac- turer’s rep business, Mid Mountain Rep. Daren and his father represent- ed a line of capital equipment that Sperry Univac was evaluating for as- sembly of avionics circuit boards. Mid Mountain Rep won the con-
tract for the equipment and five laser-assisted assembly machines were purchased and installed in the manufacturing line. To show appreciation for Mid
Mountain earning the commission, Daren and Hal treated those in- volved in evaluating and installing the production equipment to a steak
that Daren and Hal had made in the past, a simple tool used to manually pick and place electronic computer chips — a tool now known as the PEN-VAC. By 1987, the business was offi-
cially organized and known as Virtu- al Industries. The name is a refer- ence to the idea that the team could build “virtually anything.” The patent for the PEN-VAC was award- ed in 1992 and the company took off. Hal retired in 1999, but over the past decades, Daren and Tom have used valuable customer insight to develop a product line that includes electri- cally powered benchtop vacuum tweezers, battery-powered pick-up and compressed air powered tools. They also broadened their line of pick-up tips to accommodate the han- dling of semiconductor wafers, opti- cal components and parts as small as 4 mil (100 µm). Daren and Tom strive to treat
the employees of Virtual Industries as though they are family. Through health insurance, a matching 401k program and paid vacations, the company takes care of its own and cares for the future of its employees. In fact, 30 percent of the workforce at the company has left for greener pas- tures at one time or another, but has ended up returning. Daren and Tom share the same
core values, which has allowed them to stay in business. They each have a sibling working at the company and have a unified vision for the future: to continue to market their products to high-tech industries and expand the business.
Continued on next page
August, 2018
“ The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”– Benjamin Franklin
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