MD&M, or Medical Design & Manufacturing, was a huge event this year and Golden West Technology was excited to participate this year in a big way. The Company reserved a trade show booth near one of the main entrances and registration areas, benefiting greatly from the enhanced flow of visitor traffic. The medical market has been a successful market for GWT as the Company continues to maintain the quality programs, proven processes, and necessary equipment required by customers in the medical market. Look to see us at the Del Mar Electronics Show (DMES) in San Diego on May 2nd & 3rd.

GWT has made a commitment to support existing customer requirements to transition some of their products to RoHS compliance and to offer RoHS compliant assembly for new customers. With that commitment GWT has purchased a new Technical Devices flow solder machine for lead-free soldering of printed circuit boards. Also it will be purchasing a new Heller reflow oven designed especially for lead-free reflow soldering. Along with that commitment GWT has purchased, installed and implemented software for due diligence to comply with RoHS and is offering part validation per IPC 1752 to show compliance to RoHS if challenged by the EU. GWT has also invested in IPC training and certification in lead-free assembly and green lead-free workstations. Our customers are serious about lead-free manufacturing and so are we.

Golden West Technology�s mission statement reads��Delivering quality products that consistently meet or exceed our customers� contract manufacturing requirements with an internal focus on continual improvement and a customer-first attitude that enhances customer satisfaction.� In order to accomplish this goal, we strive to continually improve our operations. An example of that commitment was becoming ISO 9002 certified in September 1999 and then following that up with a successful upgrade to ISO 9001:2000 in March of 2004. Alliance International Registrar is our current registrar that regularly visits our facility to ensure that our operations continue to meet the most demanding of quality standards. Another example of that commitment is our Customer Satisfaction Measurement Program implemented way back in 1999 along with the original ISO version. It was not required at the time but GWT did it anyway in order to be more responsive to our customers� requirements and needs. It helped make our transition to ISO 9001: 2000 all the more faster and smoother because much of the new requirements were already in place when ISO introduced the new standard.

It took approximately 31 years, but GWT has finally surpassed the point in its history where 2 million assemblies have been completed and delivered! The previous milestone of 1 million assemblies delivered occurred in 1992, 18 years since our original inception. Looking forward at the present rate, GWT should reach the next significant milestone of 3 million pieces delivered by 2014.

Golden West Technology�s existence has been marked by 30+ years of continuity and stability. In 1974, GWT opened its doors to an opportunity to provide private labeled box-build manufacturing for a single large customer. By 1977 we had moved to a larger facility and established ourselves as a valuable resource to local OEMs. The concept of electronic contract manufacturing began to evolve even more in the 1980s and Golden West Technology flourished by diversifying its customer base to include a multitude of OEMs in varying industries. Employees have been a key resource in GWT�s success and stability. 65% of the current work force has been with the company for 10 years or more. Furthermore, about 25% of employees have been with us for over 20 years. We�re confident in saying that a competent and satisfied work force like that will ultimately translate over to many satisfied customers as well.