Publication date: 21 October 2011
Christopher Associates is a pioneering supplier and distributor to the electronics and chemical processing industries. The company’s customer base includes more than 1,200 companies worldwide in the printed circuit fabrication and assembly industries. Christopher Associates prides itself on working with its long-term equipment partners to deliver world-class technology.
Martin Gershenson currently holds the position of General Manager for Christopher Associates. He has been in the electronics industry since 1982, and has held management, engineering and sales positions with several world-class printed circuit board (PCB) related companies. Here we catch up with Martin to find out what is new in the electronics and chemical processing business.
Christopher Associates has made some major additions to its sales force this year. Adding Dave Rund to the team in a position of materials sales and the promotion of Michael Moreau to head solar sales has increased our flexibility greatly.
Additionally, we have signed on a half-dozen new representative firms nationwide and are excited about their level of activity. It has been a lot of work for all of us but we are starting see the fruits of that labor and are compiling an excellent team.
With the additional volume of materials that we have been handling, we are focusing on logistics and materials management in order to provide a framework for growth in 2012.
We have new suppliers in all of our major areas of business, in both materials and equipment. Adding OTC to our bare fab product offerings, Semblant surface coating and new Koki pastes gives us a formidable materials group for the first time.
We are continuing to search out the best suppliers in the solar industry from all over the world. Our president, Matthew Holzmann, spends quite a bit of time on the road meeting with potential new suppliers
We have added new systems in both of these areas. Akila XR-3 X-ray systems offer high-resolution, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art emitters and image intensifiers at a very attractive price point. Customer feedback so far has been positive, and we look forward to a long relationship with this supplier.
Intek Plus is a supplier that we have been watching for quite some time. We first became aware of Intek Plus with its solar inspection product, and we decided to start working with the company about a year ago. Our engineers and Intek Plus’ engineers are working hand-in-hand to develop a world-class inspection system. We are combining Intek’s more than15 years of inspection experience with Christopher's real-world experience with SPI, and we believe we have a winning combination.
Equipment makers must understand that reliability, ease-of-use and low overall cost of ownership are critical to success in North America. Most customers today do not have the luxury of having equipment for show, and most engineers do not have time to reinvent the wheel every time they get a new piece of equipment. They both need equipment that performs, and performs well as quickly as possible. There is simply no room for showpieces or ego-driven equipment designs in this market.
This is very exciting for us. We have been working with Marantz for more than a decade now, and are very proud of our association with this supplier. The addition of our new nine camera HDA desktop and in-line systems as well as the unique “Island” work cell, gives Marantz a competitive edge. We also have had a 30 percent reduction in cost over the last 12 months, due in large part to a recognition by both Christopher and our supplier that our customers simply need our help to not only succeed, but to grow in this tough economy. Marantz offers 100 percent LED illumination, telecentric lens systems and a unique inspection method to provide excellent defect capture rates with little to no false calls.
Honestly, by force of will. As I previously mentioned, Matt and I spend a lot of time on the road at trade shows, visiting new suppliers and beating the bushes for new opportunities. One of the reasons I have been at Christopher so long is because of Matt’s ability to see opportunities where others, including me, do not. In a competitive market such as ours, staying one step ahead of the competition is not only beneficial, but necessary.
Since joining Christopher in 2000, I have seen a lot of changes in the electronics industry, both good and bad. I regret the loss of some very good engineering talent in our industry. Companies have to do more with less, and it seems that process engineering is quite often one of the first departments hit when cutbacks are necessary. As a supplier, this makes our job more difficult when the remaining engineers do not have as much time to research solutions and are a little ‘gun shy’ about incorporating new ideas or new technologies.
On the positive side, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of “white shoes and belt” salesmen over the last 10 years. The quality of both my sales reps and the competition is higher than it has ever been, and that is good for all of us.
At Christopher Associates, we pride ourselves on being a solutions provider instead of simply another equipment peddler, and it is nice to see the industry heading in that direction. We are once again ahead of the curve and that is a good place to be.
