MARCH 2019 – Let me explain; at most of these events I am fortunate enough to be interviewed by I-Connect 007 which is a great opportunity for me to promote our company and our product lines. The bonus is that my interviewer is none other than I-Connect007's Mr. Pete Starkey! You heard me correctly...THE Pete Starkey! Believe it or not the story gets even better. I was scheduled to be interviewed by Pete not once, but twice; this was my lucky day!! I felt so fortunate that I wanted to buy a lottery ticket. Unfortunately, they don’t sell lottery tickets in the San Diego Convention Center, so I put that thought on the back burner.

Another benefit about being interviewed two times is the fact that I was able to promote two product lines; inkjet solder mask, and crack resistant white solder mask for the automotive industry. You may have already seen these interviews, but for those of you who have not, visit our video clips page. Be sure to watch them both as they are very different in the content they present.

The EIPC winter conference was held in Milan this past February. It was very well attended by nearly 100 delegates. There was a wide range of topics from equipment to consumables; including processes and regulations. I must admit my favorite presentation was the one concerning updates in inkjet solder mask! Oh wait, that’s the one I presented!

Have you ever had to give a presentation to a large group only to have the presentation malfunction? You are then left with the dreaded “blue screen”; well that’s what happened to me! You can’t plan for it, but the show must go on. As two of the committee members frantically tried to revive the main computer, I could sense my audience slipping away. These were people that I’ve presented to several times before and they had expectations concerning the mentioned material.

What could I do? I thought about dancing, but I was standing alone at the time. I thought about telling jokes but didn’t think the timing was appropriate. My very last thought was the worst, as I surely can’t sing and wasn’t about to try in front of a group of delegates! I’ve done the presentation many times leading up to this day and I knew the material I was presenting. I decided to give the presentation sans photos, that’s right, NO PHOTOS!

I asked my audience to imagine that the photos were displayed as I spoke and pointed towards the blue screen. Everyone played along as they realized this may be as good as it’s going to get. I even had to field a couple of questions during the blue screen presentation. About halfway through the faux presentation the computer glitch was repaired, and my presentation magically appeared on the screen for all to see. This is the first time this has ever happened to me and it taught me a valuable lesson, from now on, anytime I give a presentation I will have a copy of it on a jump drive in my pocket. I suggest you all do the same!