2011 was a year of significant infrastructure improvements, major systems upgrades and several technological advancements.

It was also a year of adding a host of new clients, whose relationships are seeds we hope to nurture into thriving business opportunities.

Along with the facility improvements, Saturn Flex made a significant hire.

The Year-in-Review
In December 2010, Saturn Flex hired Frank Reed to manage production at the Saturn Flex facility. Along with his experience in PCB manufacturing, Reed served previously as a production manager at the world's second largest furniture manufacturer, Herman Miller. Reed moved to Alpharetta, GA from Detroit in December 2010 to help manage growth in the plant and oversee cross-departmental processing. He works closely with Joe Pline, Saturn Flex's chief process engineer who has more than 30 years experience in building specialized and highly technical flex, rigid-flex and rigid PCBs, to set production schedules and manage process controls. Reed also now oversees all facility improvements, vendor relations and equipment operations.

These shop-enhancements led to several major accomplishments for Saturn Flex in 2011. Saturn Flex took on a number of jobs that pushed the boundaries of not only its capabilities, but of the industries' capabilities.

In July Saturn Flex took on a flex board that included plated 2-mil vias. It was a prototype and the client was previously told by other board houses that it couldn't be done. Saturn Flex took the project and with its upgraded plating system plated the 2-mil holes completely shut. The project - which also included 2-mil traces and spaces, was a success.

Then last fall, Saturn Flex took on another project that required 3-mil vias through an 8-mil, 4-layer flex board. Through R&D it was determined that lasering the vias was not an option. So Saturn Flex did what one outside drilling service with 30+ years experience and several vendors said was impossible: it successfully mechanically drilled the 3-mil vias. Then it successfully plated those vias. Today that is a production project and Saturn Flex is consistently producing that part. It was by no means easy and took a good deal of investment and R&D to make the part a reality. This project demonstrates Saturn Flex's determination to be among the industry's elite when it comes to manufacturing specialized and high-tech flex, rigid-flex and rigid PCBs.