Humberto Murillo Sr. came to the U.S. four decades ago with very little to his name.
Humberto Murillo“When I first arrived in America, I had no job, no money, and no connections,” Murillo says. “But I refused to let that stop me.”
Since 1985, Murillo has been the owner and mainstay of Data Electronic Services in Santa Ana, California, which provides high-quality plating services for the printed circuit board (PCB) industry.
DES’s capabilities include electroless nickel/immersion gold (ENIG), electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG), electroless palladium immersion gold (EPIG), hard gold and nickel plating, immersion silver plating, direct immersion gold (DIG), and many more.
Today, Murillo's company is a thriving enterprise, he says, with a reputation for excellence that extends far beyond his local community.
“What sets us apart from others in his industry is our unwavering commitment to our customers,” he says. “We understand that this success is dependent on their success, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs and exceed their expectations.”
Family Leads DES’s Commitment
DES’s capabilities include ENIG, ENEPIG, EPIG, hard gold and nickel plating, immersion silver plating, DIG, and many more.That customer-focused team now includes numerous family members, all of whom Murillo has instilled that same sense of quality and focus. It includes Operation Manager Adrian Murillo, Director Of Quality Gabriela Murillo, and Shipping and Receiving Manager Humberto “Tito” Murillo Jr.
Rounding out the management team are Chemical Engineer Shailesh Vahashia, Production Supervisor Juan Jimenez, Process Manager Cutberto Ortiz, and Accounting Managers Karin Escobar and Mamta Vahashia.
“Humberto is all about customer service,” Adrian says. “He always says the phones have to be ringing, and you have to answer the call. The PC board industry doesn’t sleep.”
Back when Murillo started the business, and through the early 1990s, he was spending 16 hours a day at DES running lines and overseeing projects. His son says that if a customer needed work by Monday, they would come in and work weekends to get parts run.
“He figured out how to open for them,” Adrian says. “He always dreamed about having the shop running 24/7; we are almost there as we are 24/6, and that’s because, in the PCB industry, there needs to be a fast turnaround.”
PCB is the Mainstay of DES Work
The PCB industry has been the mainstay of DES, and they continue to expand their services and offerings to customers as the demand drives it.
Copper in-hole.In September, they unveiled their latest service offering: nonconductive epoxy via fill, which they say takes their commitment even further by offering a process of filling a via with epoxy prior to finishing. It is used to prevent excess solder from wicking away from the pad and down into the via hole during the reflow soldering stage of the PCB assembly process.
The new DES via fill tank has a large capacity of 131 inches by 46 inches, which allows them to handle larger projects and accommodate more work than they could before.
“With this new capability, we can take on very challenging PCB projects and still deliver outstanding results,” says Gabriela Murillo, who oversees quality. “It means faster turnaround times, increased capacity, and improved efficiency for our customers.”
Earlier this year, DES added organic solderability preservative (OSP) plating in partnership with MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions (MAES), a sister company of MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions.
OSP is a widely used surface finish for PCBs and offers excellent solderability and protection against oxidation. The MAES Entek Plus HT system process provides a superlative lead-free final finish and maintains exceptional solderability through multiple lead-free processing, delivering a high reliability in BGA solder joint strengths.
Apprenticeship in the Electroplating Industry
DES opened with just one electroless copper plating tank but made many friends in the industry who sent them work. All of these new-fangled systems and applications are a far cry from when Humberto Sr. first started the company. When he first arrived in the U.S. in 1977, he worked odd jobs before taking an apprenticeship in the electroplating industry.
“I was always eager to learn and improve my skills,” he says. “I grasped the concepts quickly due to my commitment, long hours, and strong work ethic. The owner of the company was impressed with my dedication, which led to me being promoted to a supervisory role, where I took on the responsibility of leading a team.”
Humberto Sr. says he was always eager to figure out how to plate different materials successfully, which often involved a mix of both failures and successes.
“Through this process, I gained a deeper understanding of how plating works and started to develop some knowledge of chemistry,” he says.
But things began to change quickly, as the owner of the plating shop where he had been working passed away, and the company began to face challenges. With customers leaving, he saw an opportunity in the PCB industry, which was in need of reliable plating services.
“I invested nearly every penny I had into equipment and supplies,” says Humberto Sr.
“I noticed the potential for growth and the demand for high-quality plating,” Humberto Sr. says. “That's when I decided to venture into starting my own operation, focusing on serving the PCB industry. I believed that I could make a difference and provide the necessary expertise and support to meet the industry's needs at the time.”
Electronics, Computer Industry Takes Off
Murillo began to see how the electronics industry was taking off, which also was at the start of what could be considered the computer age in the early 1980s. He and a co-worker at the plating shop they were working at decided to start their own plating business.
They opened DES with just one electroless copper plating tank but made many friends in the industry who sent them work.
“I invested nearly every penny I had into equipment and supplies,” says Humberto Sr., who adds that his wife, Blanca Murillo, played a significant part in helping to get the business started and has been instrumental in its success even today.
Starting his own electroplating operation was incredibly challenging, he says, especially in the beginning. The timing wasn't ideal as the economy was not doing well at the time, but despite the economic challenges, there was a strong demand for electroplating services in the industry.
“To make it work, there were times when we had to go the extra mile, even working without pay,” Humberto Sr. says. “It required a tremendous amount of dedication, hard work, and perseverance to build the business from the ground up. The early days were tough, but the belief in our mission and the dedication of our team were the driving forces that ultimately helped us overcome these challenges.”
“Family members are not just employees; they're dedicated and reliable partners who share a common vision,” he says.
His son, Adrian, knows how hard his father worked back then and also the hardship it caused him. Adrian says his father’s first partner tried to take advantage of him in the business, which only made Murillo work harder.
“The PCP industry was booming, and they were really busy back in that time,” Adrian says. “But he had some bad experiences because he only went to school to the third grade, and his first partner was taking advantage of him. But he learned from those experiences, and he bought out his partner and worked even more.”
Bringing his family members into the company has been a rewarding experience for Humberto Sr., who says what he enjoys most about having them involved in the operation is the sense of trust, unity, and shared values that we bring to the business.
“Family members are not just employees; they're dedicated and reliable partners who share a common vision,” he says. “This dynamic creates a strong sense of commitment and responsibility, and it allows us to work together cohesively to achieve our goals. It's not just about business; it's about strengthening family bonds through collaboration and shared success.”
Commitment to Helping the Technology, PCB Industry
That customer-focused team now includes numerous family members, all of whom Murillo has instilled that same sense of quality and focus. Humberto Sr. says the biggest reason for his company's growth has been its relentless commitment to helping the technology and PCB industry. They have successfully assisted their customers in finding the right solutions for their needs.
“It's not just about providing services; it's about being a valuable partner in our customers' success,” he says. “We've built strong relationships with our vendors, working closely with them to identify and implement the right solutions. This collaboration has allowed us to stay at the forefront of the industry.”
DES has also partnered with Uyemura International on its chemistries for years and did so when it added its EPIG in 2017. It was a tough task when the process went in, only because of the demanding results that DES customers expect.
“Nickel is what customers love to hate, and that’s particularly true of the elite medical and military customers that represent the majority of DES’ work,” says Rich DePoto, Business Development Manager for Uyemura. “It stems from the negative effect nickel has on the signal integrity of boards used in high-frequency applications.”
Uyemura’s quality team of April LaBonte, Chris Carrillo, Juan Garcia, and Jeff Rand – all Uyemura tech support specialists – and DES’s Vaghashia and Gabriela Murillo set up an in-house quality analysis system similar to what had been established for other processes. It involved XRF, atomic absorption spectrometry, solution and plated board testing, cross-sectioning and photography, daily SPC charting, and quarterly audits and audit validations.
It also included several tracks of documentation: DES is ITAR compliant, holds AS9100 D and ISO 2015 certifications, and complies with IPC 4552 and 4556.
High Acceptance Rates, Zero Corrosion History
DES says it prides itself on its high acceptance rates, zero corrosion history relative to its gold chemistries, and compliance record. But there are times when compliance takes on a different meaning, such as when a customer specs a gold thickness deposit that‘s higher than standard ENIG can achieve.
Specific instances include a program requiring not 1-2 μin, but 7 and 8μin, another for 25μin and yet another for 30 μin.
“These were boards specified instead for electroless gold,” Gabriela Murillo says. “In close consultation with Uyemura’s lab, they were manufactured to specification, using Uyemura’s AuBEL 2.”
AuBEL Electroless Gold is an alkaline autocatalytic process with excellent gold wire bond properties and a deposition rate of 80 μin per hour. Another option is a neutral pH electroless gold, TMX-23, which is compatible with a variety of liquid and dry film solder masks. For heavy gold ENEPIG / EPIG applications under 8μin, DES uses TWX-40, a reduction-assisted bath that is unique in its two distinct modes of deposition and its “zero corrosion” performance.
Where traditional immersion gold exchanges with the substrate in a displacement reaction, TWX-40 deposits gold using both immersion and autocatalytic (electroless) reactions.
DES worked with 3 other gold vendors in the past, changing to UIC chemistries as a solution to problems with skip plating and to overcome objections from customers about products with a hydrochloric base, which can contaminate final finishes.
From Large Corporations to Smaller Broker Companies
"We're not just a service provider; we're a partner in innovation,” Murillo says.Adrian Murillo says their customers vary from large corporations to some smaller broker companies, but they work to give each customer — no matter their size — the attention to detail they require.
DES also has two sister companies that perform chrome metal finishing, electroless nickel, nickel chrome, and polishing. Their other shop performs epoxy via film.
“One of the things that our dad has taught us is that we take it more personally because it is a family business,” Adrian says. “If our customers are successful, then we are successful. For him, customer service is always treating customers like family.”
Humberto Sr. says what sets DES apart in the industry is their unwavering commitment to customer support and their openness to helping our customers find solutions, particularly in their research and development efforts.
“We're not just a service provider; we're a partner in innovation,” he says, adding that they pride themselves on being accessible and responsive.
“We understand the importance of working closely with our clients to support their R&D work,” Humberto Sr. says. “We go the extra mile to ensure our customers' success and satisfaction.”
Visit www.despcb.com
