STI Electronics Move into New 54,000 Square Foot Facility

What does STI do in 54,000 square feet of space?

As we approached the building with all its unfinished landscaping I saw what appeared to be a large
one-story office building. But behind the decorative façade loomed 54,000 square feet of working
space. So what is STI able to do in 54,000 square feet of space that they couldn’t do in their smaller
facility? Invest in their future! The belief of “Build it and they will come” is a hope they stand by at
STI.
Their success in the past builds this confidence in their future and expanding their facility means
broadening the scope of production capabilities as well as services. STI has every reason to believe
they will reach the next level.

Jim Raby

But how do you shut down one facility and open another without shutting down your business? Ask
Diana Bradford, STI’s Vice President of Operations/Training Resources. Diana was the one
responsible to ensure that the move went smoothly. Today, they are fully functional in their new
expanded home and the only thing left to do now is to get the former facility rented out and present
us with a tour of the new one.

Not Running Scared, Running Smart!

Throughout our morning we were led through not one but three main divisions of STI that all work
together synergistically, sharing internal resources such as staff, products and services like
warehousing that allows STI a base stability through this internal support structure. Although all the
three divisions work well together internally, only approximately 5% of their customers use multiple
areas of the company regularly.
We were first introduced to Sissie Eckstein, a ten year veteran of STI that now manages STI’s

Distribution division.

 
STI’s Distribution Division
began as a result of procurement difficulties of
products required for use in low volume manufacturing. Today STI provides many local companies
(including their own) with more than 120 various supplies and consumable products that are usually
hard to purchase in smaller quantities. Throughout the upcoming year Sissie and her team will be
implementing a new e-commerce site to add to their list of customer services.
We then traveled down the hall to one of three new

training class rooms.

 
STI’s Training Division
is
what they are known for around the world more
than anything else. If you have ever required IPC
certification you are most likely familiar with STI
and may have even trained there every two years
for recertification, as so many people do. Pat Scott,
Director of Training Services oversees the functions
of the training classes. STI conducts training for
IPC approved certifications; in fact they even
helped write the curriculum for IPC! They also
conduct NASA level training programs and custom
classes based on company specific training needs.
They can conduct classes either at the STI facility
or travel to other companies using training kits;

Training Classroom
STI Electronics’ new facility located at 261 Palmer Road, Madison, AL

80% of their classes are offsite classes. While STI conducts many hands-on and lecture style
classes, the J-STD-001 and IPC-771/7721 Standards are their most popular of all.
As a Raby family member, David recalls always being treated more strictly than most employees.
Jim Raby required David to become certified, but as a rule Jim did not allow any of his family
members to pass the class on the first attempt. David earned the highest score in his first
certification class, but while others all passed, and true to Jim’s word, David did not pass the class.
Nor in his second class. Halfway through David’s third class Jim said to him “you’ve had enough of
all this” and pulled him out of class… David never did get his actual IPC certification.
Next on our route was the Main Lab, the first of

the

 
Engineering Services Division
areas we
saw. Once there, we met Marietta Lemieux,
Analytical Lab Manager who was extensively
knowledgeable about analysis and testing. The
Main Lab space, which now requires a lot more
walking than the typical chair-rolling method they
used in their smaller former labs, is equipped
with a plethora of analysis machines including
ion chromatography, infrared spectrometers, XRay
analysis, optical microscopy, and scanning
electron microscopy.
The SEMS (scanning electron microscopes)
room seemed to be their pride and joy, thrilled at
having this high magnification equipment
separate from the rest, and the room barely lit.
Other labs included the wet lab where chemical testing is conducted under a fume hood, and their
environmental testing room which houses a large thermal shock chamber.
After leaving the Lab area, we were then corralled through the warehouse and the training kit room
and into the manufacturing area. STI started out building prototypes and small volume assemblies
for aerospace and military customers. But this area of STI was the most affected with the new
expansion. Today, STI’s 24,000 square feet of ISO 9000 certified manufacturing space is able to
ramp up in all areas of manufacturing in both volume of orders and production capabilities. They now
supply PCB assemblies to commercial customers and can take on higher volume projects.