Spirit: Behind the Screen

Spirit Account Rep Steve Kruse's perspective is that if you work to make someone's job easy, they'll want to work with you. You'll rise to the top among your customers. And as his fellow Spirit Account Rep Jason Brandsma shares, Spirit has been recognized for this high-touch support by some of our prime customers this past year.

Steve and Jason talk with Marti about Spirit's component distribution business and what has helped to build the best customer relationships this year. They look at trends in the supply chain, the importance of buyer support, and the big additions to Spirit's end-to-end supply chain services.

Learn more about Spirit's foundry services with TI, DPA and device analysis, or our component distribution mentioned in this episode.

The Spirit Electronics Quality department manages all major compliance programs in support of business operations. So it's no surprise that Quality Director Estefania Romero is an expert in export control.

In this episode Estefania and Marti discuss Spirit's compliance and sales support for export controlled components under both ITAR and EAR. The program supports national security goals while protecting suppliers and coordinating with customer programs and end-use assessments.

With our expansion of services to include TI foundry access, Spirit continues to grow security and business programs to support American-based manufacturing.

For more info on all of Spirit's compliance programs visit https://www.spiritelectronics.com/about-us-old/quality/policies-compliance/. We welcome customer and supplier program audits.

In this episode, Spirit's Director of Purchasing Kelly Krall talks with Marti about supplier management and automation.

With lead times and prices constantly shifting in the post-covid supply chain, Kelly has found that the key to meeting customer requirements is communication and insight around delays and changes. Her purchasing team coordinates information between customers and the supply chain while looking for solutions like BOM management and drop-in replacements.

Kelly shares how Spirit's new AI automated reporting A.L.I.C.E. provides real-time data to customers with order status, expected delivery dates and more.

Have you met A.L.I.C.E. yet? Learn more about Spirit's reporting AI on our team page.

As an authorized distributor, Spirit has supported some award-winning SMI programs over the years, but Director of Technical Sales Sean Macdonald covers the major supply chain changes and service shifts we've seen in the past 5 years.

Supplier-Managed Inventory (SMI) has typically looked at materials forecasts and ordering in advance to make sure parts are available when you need them on the assembly line. But with allocation, supply chain disruptions, and inflation, Spirit has been able to adjust ordering and inventory services to:

1. Secure the product pipeline
2. Guarantee pricing amid inflation and increases
3. Manage inventory long-term

With circuit card assembly (CCA), destructive physical analysis (DPA), BGA reballing, lead trim and form, and many other value-added services in-house, product can be inventoried well in advance with predictable pricing and ready-for-use delivery.

For more information about our services, visit SpiritElectronics.com/services.

CEO Marti McCurdy and VP Zef Malik share the news that Spirit Electronics has acquired Insight Analytical Labs in Colorado Springs, adding the IAL team and services under the Spirit full-turnkey umbrella.

The move adds Destructive Physical Analysis (DPA) and broader construction and device analysis capabilities, crucial services in the military-aerospace industry. Not only does the team perform DPA to MIL standards, but they bring 30+ years of process and experience to Spirit Electronics.

Marti & Zef discuss the roadmap and positioning of DPA and device analysis, as well as how Spirit's testing services will address supply chain bottlenecks in the industry.

Learn more about the IAL acquisition and DPA services at SpiritElectronics.com/device-analytical-services.

Marti shares her three MVPs as a small business CEO: her attorney, her CPA and her banker. In this episode, Marti talks small business banking with Gary Naquin, Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking at MidFirst.

Gary shares his outlook about bank stability, inflation and economic influences currently shaping the future of the economy in Arizona and the Phoenix Metro area.

Spirit Electronics is a veteran-owned, woman-owned small business. In the past 5 years, we have grown significantly in revenue, team and facility. Learn more about our corporate story here. For more about corporate banking with MidFirst, visit MidFirst.com/business.

Jim Kemerling, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Triad Semiconductor, joins Marti for an episode about Triad's analog and mixed-signal ASICs and the process of qualifying them for radiation and harsh environments. Triad Semiconductor specializes in analog and mixed-signal ASICs. Marti and Jim discuss Triad's via-configurable arrays that offer flexibility in programming.

You can find out more about Spirit Electronics' ASIC and foundry services at spiritelectronics.com/services/asic.

In this episode, Marti chats with EPC's CEO Alex Lidow and Marketing Director Renee Yawger about the progress of GaN. They discuss GaN's performance under high radiation as well as the extensive testing, failure modes and device lifespan detailed in EPC's Phase 15 reliability report.

With the full potential of GaN still to be explored and new EPC products releasing frequently, including new half-bridge drivers, low-side drivers and full power stage, GaN is especially useful in New Space and commercial space applications.

Spirit Electronics is an authorized distributor for EPC GaN products. Find out more at SpiritElectronics.com.

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month, and Catherine Ivy joins Marti to share her story and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center's work toward effective brain tumor treatment.

Catherine Ivy is the founder of the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation and the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ. The Ivy Brain Tumor Center has pioneered Phase 0 Clinical Trials to redesign the process around researching effective treatment for brain tumors.

Catherine shares the story of her husband's diagnosis and the devastating discovery that treatment was limited and challenging. The Ivy Brain Tumor Center Phase 0 Clinical Trial program is accelerating the timeline.

This informational and moving episode is about spreading awareness. For more resources and information, visit the Ivy Brain Tumor Center awareness month page. To help further the cause, the Ivy Center is hosting their annual Dine & Donate program throughout May.

In celebration of Earth Day 2023, Spirit is highlighting all of the ways that we have been pursuing sustainable operations. Even as a small business, we believe that every little action adds up.

Green-minded Director of Technical Sales Sean Macdonald joins Marti for this episode on Spirit's Sustainable small business activities. From growing and harvesting an employee garden to automating our facility and composting paper towels, listen for ideas on how even small changes can support a sustainable supply chain and team well-being.

For more about Spirit's sustainability program, visit our sustainability page. Follow us on LinkedIn as we celebrate EarthDay.