History in the making
In 1986 Tony Bourassa and Paul Boduch combined their substantial knowledge of printed circuit board design and fabrication to found Mass Design. The company would soon fill a void in the industry by meeting the need for high-reliability boards in quantities ranging from as few as five to as many as 2,500 or so.
During its 25-year history, Mass Design has firmly established itself and grown in the high-reliability market niche; winning customers such as Siemens, Fresenius, Nova Biomedical, Boeing, Raytheon, Tyco, GE and a host of leading brands in medical monitoring and diagnostic equipment, defense, avionics, and high-end consumer products.
Both Tony and Paul came to their new venture with a design-for-manufacturability mindset. In addition to working with Teccon Corporation, Tony taught printed circuit design at MIT’s Lowell Institute School where he instilled in his students an understanding of specifications that control fabrication. Paul, who began his career with the Printed Circuit Division of W.R. Grace, has been credited with developing of the UV films that remain the industry standard today.
Over the years, the company expanded through increasing sales, mergers and acquisition of other PCB manufacturers. By 1995, Mass Design had added assembly and shortly thereafter earned its ISO 9001:2008 Certification. It also holds ISO 13485: 2003 Medical Certification and UL796.
The company regularly invests in the latest manufacturing, assembly and testing equipment by MyData, Schmoll and others to produce rigid, rigid/flex and flexible PCBs that are increasing in complexity as much as they are decreasing in size.
With the purchase of a 72,000 square foot facility in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2004, Mass Design established an integrated design and manufacturing facility capable of performing every operation – from design through assembly – under one roof. Located just north of Boston’s Route 128 Technology Highway, Mass Design now employs some 100 people.
The founders have made remarkable strides by sticking to their high-quality, high reliability philosophy. During its first 25 years, Mass Design has gained the reputation, the team and the technology to assure its position at the front of the PCB industry for many years to come.