“For what I was bidding a job, for material costs alone, (overseas competitors) were beating me.” This is the situation that Brigitte Lawrence, president of the Elgin, IL-based Brigitflex, recently found herself in. “I was just trying to stay alive,” says the owner of the concept project shop.
 A flex Teflon bookbinder rigid/flex board with 12 complex layers. The board is halogen free and built for a vacuum. |
Brigitflex, formerly known as the 30-year-old Pentaplex, recently reorganized as a minority/woman-owned business that has found its niche in working on innovative and specialty printed circuit board concept projects for engineers and businesses. Essentially, Brigit is running a pre-research and development operation. Without the means to cost-effectively mass produce, but the brainpower, experience and facilities to realize a concept, this company of fifty-somethings “eats and sleeps scientific research and printed circuit boards,” Lawrence says. “It’s in our blood. We live, breathe and work in this facility, and being in our fifties, there is nothing else, there is no alternative for us.”
Big Projects, Classified Details
 A special material board made with Kapton® polyimide film. |
For a recent project, Lawrence and Co. received a little funding from the Department of Homeland Security to “see if they could stop a car.” The device in question was something that, when run over by a vehicle, would disable the car. Lawrence described the project as a board crafted from several layers of mica with copper. Throughout the development of the device the company also helped create the transformers as the project took the form of a very large capacitor. Sure enough, when a vehicle rolled over it, “lightening” shot out of it and the car came to a halt. Additional details about the project are sealed behind tightened lips; after all, it was a project for the government.
After the successful development, it is still in question as to whether or not Brigitflex will receive the contract to continue to manufacture the product. While the company may have the capabilities to manufacture the part, the president does realize that when it comes to cost efficiency in mass production, it is difficult for her to compete. Says Lawrence, “I don’t know if we’ll get (the contract), but we were here and we were willing to work. No matter what (a customer) comes to us with, we’ll try and make anything happen. If we cannot make it here, then it cannot be done.”
Seven Minds, Endless Ideas
When it comes to concept projects, Lawrence describes a brainstorming environment with seven employees working as a think tank to make things possible. “It’s extremely exciting, you’re learning everyday,” Lawrence says. Especially with the material restrictions and specifications that are demanded on specific projects, the Brigitflex crew dives head first in the pursuit of knowledge. “We have always taken pride in our work and tried to achieve our goals and the goals of our large range of customers.”
 The back of a plain board with cutouts, a copper core and heat sink. |
As she watches the industry progress through a generational movement, Lawrence insists that youth doesn’t have everything over experience. “I’ve seen things that we were doing back in the 1970’s come back again,” Lawrence reveals. “Doing concept work is the most rewarding, but being able to work with replacements for the old boards is fun too.” The Brigitflex president also notes that her staff enjoys the close contact with application engineers and concept people, adding that it offers an additional, and educational, perspective when it comes to design ideas. That ongoing education has been a result of several challenges from engineering specifications which, in return, led the team to create its own materials to suit the specific projects. “Because of this ever-changing world we live in, we have to keep up with all new ideas,” Lawrence adds.
“The time-consuming core boards that we manufacture can be a challenge, but that is what we thrive on—the things others don't want to do. It’s not unusual for other printed circuit board houses to come to us to repair their problems.”
Time is not the drive at Brigitflex, it’s the passion. “I don’t go by hourly rate; the satisfaction that we get whether we can or cannot make a board work is what makes it worth while,” states Lawrence.
The Capability, The Motivation
 A Teflon mix board in gold with 18 layers buried blind via signals. ADVERTISEMENT
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Brigitflex’s philosophy is simple: if you place an order with them, they have the ability to participate in the entire development process from design, development, and packaging throughout the manufacturing process. The company still operates in a 25,000 square foot manufacturing space and even though they run a lean seven person crew they have the ability to perform all but a few processes at their facility. With over 30 years in the business, the company has learned how to adapt to change. While some shop doors continue to close and work steadily drifts overseas, the circuit board specialists have seized the opportunity in terms of acquiring reliable equipment at auction to increase their capabilities. Says Lawrence, ““I am bound and determined to think that there is something left for us in the United States. I am a firm believer that we’ve got to keep something here.”
As Pentaplex turned into a memory, Lawrence worked closely with her local government to find a way to take advantage of business opportunities available to woman minority owned businesses. The end result was the now woman-owned Brigitflex.
“We are willing to try and make anything possible,” Lawrence says. “Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t, but we’re always up to the challenge.”
For additional information about Brigitflex, click here to e-mail President Brigitte Lawrence directly or visit the company’s website at Brigitflex.com.