Golden West Technology has installed a DI water system that now complements our traditional RO-based water system. In addition, a batch cleaner and a cleanliness tester are in place to insure that PCBAs meet the rigorous cleanliness standards put forth by the aerospace and military industries.

GWT recently reorganized its plant floor layout to minimize contact between non-ESD protected people and the assemblies in process. Also, documents that accompany jobs are placed in anti-static bags to further protect the PCBAs they accompany. Lastly, all workstations have been equipped with continuous wrist strap monitoring devices that will sound an alarm if ESD protection lapses.

GWT would like to announce an aggressive new step in capital investment for their main manufacturing plant. The company has secured a new Ekra fully automatic screen printer machine that promises to be a significant upgrade over the existing equipment. GWT has also purchased a new leadfree, ROHS certified, solder reflow oven, the Heller 1707EXL. Both new machines are expected to enhance our manufacturing capability and help us achieve higher levels of quality.

Readying itself for the aerospace and military markets, Golden West Technology took a significant step by achieving AS9100 registration in June of 2007. Over the past six months, the company has upgraded and implemented a more stringent set of quality processes and documentation culminating in the approval of its quality system in a 3 day audit by our Registrar, NSF-ISR Ltd. AS9100 fully incorporates the entirety of the current version of ISO 9000 while adding additional requirements relating to quality and safety. Furthermore, potential customers have the ability to tap into the OASIS Database to scrutinize GWT�s quality performance going forward. The bottom line is�GWT is working hard every day to improve its quality programs for the benefit of all its customers.

Golden West Technology has thoroughly addressed BGA X-RAY inspection by acquiring a Nicolet NXR 1400-I X-Ray inspection machine. The Company previously had BGA placement and BGA rework capability, and this acquisition completes full exposure in that area and brings outside reliance on inspection�in-house. Recently, GWT made another investment in the inspection area by purchasing a Yes-Tech YTV-F1 Automated Optical Inspection unit. By embracing the robust features of enhanced technology and machine vision techniques, increased speed and consistency will be obtained by our inspection areas.