Joy McKnight, Director, Global Product Management, ITW EAE

Surfaces matter! Whether it is protecting PCBs from water, getting better performance from SMT stencils, providing anti-fingerprinting protection to consumer electronics, maximizing space available on boards by controlling epoxy flow or extending the life of semiconductor test pins, functionalizing the surface really matters.

OEMS and CEMS are increasingly utilizing surface modification techniques to save money, enhance performance and enable new design parameters. As a market leader for surface modification treatments Aculon is well placed to continue our growth.

2022 was a challenging year from a macro-economic perspective. However, despite macroeconomic challenges all around the world we continue to innovate, respond quickly, and delight our customers.

Predicting the future is becoming hard! No one could have predicted this mess three years ago. In 2023 we will see challenged supply chains, inflation, high interest rates, limited travel, lengthened qualification cycles and probable recession. Despite these tremendous headwinds, we expect to see further strong growth in 2023 in two core areas:
1. Adoption by several leading OEMS of our underfill barrier / epoxy control technology.
2. Adoption of Aculon NanoProof series of sprayable water PCB water protection treatments, particularly in wearables and mobile phones.