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When Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. (valor.com) was launched in 1992 (the North American arm, Valor Inc., came online in 1993), the company had one product - a data vaulting system - and a vision to be "partner to the electronic industry's quest for a truly efficient design-to-manufacture process." So said Chuck Feingold, president and founder of Valor Inc., in a press statement in December 1999.

Today, the software company has become a vibrant and vital link in the manufacturing chain. In October, Valor Ltd. posted its 10^th straight quarter of growth. Its boasts a line of products including ODB++, the data exchange format, plus tools for designers, fabrication, assembly and test. It has two JVs under its belt, including a successful partnership with TraceXpert, whose eponymous tool was Valor's hottest item last year.

After 13 years at the helm, Feingold is stepping down from day-to-day management of the U.S. operations and becoming a director of company. (At press time, a successor had not been named.)

Meanwhile, with a dominant share of the market for assembly software, Valor has set its sights on tackling the next big need for manufacturing engineers: getting the myriad equipment sets to feed reports into a common database. And while no one would confuse Valor with Oracle, the database giant, the former has one huge advantage: its penetration and knowledge of the electronics manufacturing market. In separate interviews, Circuits Assembly spoke with Feingold and Valor Europe president David Bengal on the company's future.

CF: In advising my successor I believe that it is important to help Valor Inc. adapt to the changes in the North American and Latin American marketplaces, while recognizing these markets' influence in the global market scheme. This has several distinctions. North America is still a major driver of technology as the largest consumer market. Latin America is making a good comeback, competing effectively with the Pacific Rim. Valor tools play a significant part in helping OEMs as well as EMS companies move products from concept to market more efficiently in time and profit. We need to help the industry embrace best practices, whether vertically integrated or through outsourcing. Taking an active role with our customers in the execution and implementation of best practices will be key for Valor's growth.

As a board member I look to contribute toward Valor's stated objective to exceed the $100 million revenue mark while becoming the premier software solutions provider for engineering and manufacturing solutions to the electronics assembly market. It is my expectation that it will be a "hands on" approach, as I have always been a strong believer that the rubber meets the road where our products come in contact with our customers. The board needs to be in touch with reality. Valor board members will continue to travel globally to see what is happening in the field.

CF: I do not see it as a personal achievement but I am very proud to have been part of a company that has contributed so much in bridging the gap between the electronics design and manufacturing worlds. Starting a company in one's living room (my kids were restricted to the pool for the first summer - tough love), and seeing a vision come to fruition are nothing short of a dream come true.

CF: There are many things that could have been done better, but weighted by importance I would probably set a better balance between family and work. There is no rewind button on life. Notably, the family is still fully intact (thanks gang).

CF: Interestingly enough, the long debates that brought ODB++'s emergence as an industry standard (today, IPC-2581) elevated an awareness that change was a must, ultimately driving toward a solution. Today the industry is united behind IPC's work, which is expanding IPC-2581, and I believe it will emerge as a strong vehicle for data transfer from design not only to manufacturing but through test and box-build. I'd like to take this opportunity to note Jim McElroy and iNEMI's part in acting as a catalyst between Valor and IPC on this project.

CF: Although this is not in any way our growth market - which is the large OEM and EMS suppliers - here is a prediction for the North American market. The same way that 20 years ago the bare-board PCB manufacturers took off with Diceon, Sanmina, Hadco, Zycon, etc., there will be a similar exponential growth of Tier III EMS companies that are able to support major OEM groups in ways the Tier I cannot, in terms of flexibility and responsiveness. Valor is in a unique position to help this tier deliver the highest level of concurrent engineering and manufacturing technology in support of their customers. I believe Tier II EMS companies will either become Tier I and cross the $2 billion revenue mark or cease to exist.

CF: I forecast the niche revival of the vertically integrated OEMs, represented by companies such as Bose, Symbol, General Dynamics and others, some of which have hired ex-EMS patriots to manufacture in-house. These companies will most likely not be in the high volume consumer market but rather hold strong market positions in their respective niches, where they want to control and maintain product IP. With the strengthening of global economies, I believe they feel more in control of their destiny with some manufacturing in-house. n

Valor Europe president David Bengal talks about product traceability, automation and the company's vision of ERP/MES tools.

DB: TraceExpert has been by far the best-selling product for Valor this year. And the merged cultures of Valor and TraceXpert A/S [now Valor Denmark] have worked well.

DB: Valor's vision does not call for expanding our solutions down the supply chain. Our focus is more on assembly and manufacturing. We are expanding vertically in those markets first.

Valor has the ability to monitor information on the SMT line. Our goals are to expand into manual assembly and box build, and help customers turn SPC and other databases into knowledge to create meaningful data for the customer. By this, we believe reporting tools aren't scratching the surface of what the database could provide. We want to create a "dashboard" for the manufacturing manager who sits outside the factory floor and helps decision-making based on real-time and historical data. Also, we want to extend quoting to include known operating expenditures of the line. A third goal is to develop a higher level ERP/MES.

DB: For manual assembly, we are looking at feeding information from scanned kits, staff and so on. It is aimed at small- to mid-tier companies, companies too small for Oracle. The customer would drive whether RFID, bar code, etc. was used.

Machine vendors are scared of third-party MES tools because they allow the manufacturer to use multiple equipment sets. Today, Genesis, the Valor tool for PCB fabricators, has about an 80% share of the market for assembly. Yet fabrication is an untapped market; the machines do not communicate to ERP systems and fabricators are blind to what's going on at the machine level. To measure cost, material management is needed. And that means a real-time ERP system. Without an accurate timeline for ERP, the system cannot properly manage material control.

This also encompasses resource allocation. This means putting the right people in the right place on the floor, and redistributing the number of people on the floor. Without a good monitoring system, people become the monitoring system. That costs money. Our goal is to help our assembly customers automate their processes.

Our customers differentiate themselves on cost and quality. Customers try to achieve lower DPMO rates, hence, we are aligning ourselves with Quality tools.

DB: TraceXpert helps control an already optimized process.

DB: Our greatest challenge is making sales in China. We are putting more focus on this market. We are building relationships with Chinese companies as well as leveraging our relationships with global companies that operate in mainland China.