An Audio Interview with Anita Sarkissian, Head of Quality Management at Plasmionique.
It was very interesting to meet Anita for the first time April 8, 2025 at Plasmionique in Montreal. The company was founded by her father, Dr. Andranik Sarkissian, and he remains key to the enterprise, and she has now joined to lead an effort in LEAN manufacturing and quality control. Plasmionique is about the same size as the company I founded, D-Pace, ie within the 15-25 people range. It has similar office and manufacturing space, and it is brimming with highly talented experts. As sales continue to grow, the manufacturing is changing from a one-off style being built by experts to more of a manufacturing line approach. This is also similar to D-Pace.
The link to the interview follows, and below the link are time stamps for each question, and a few words describing Anita’s response for reference.
Question 1 (00:00): What is your role at Plasmionique?
I am in charge of project management and quality ……
Question 2 (01:15): What does Plasmionique do?
We design and manufacture for plasma technologies, surface engineering, deposition systems, ion beam systems ….
Question 3 (01:55): What is your educational background?
I went to school at Concordia University in Industrial Engineering …..
Question 4 (02:26): How long have you been at Plasmionique?
Just about one year now ….
Question 5 (02:58): How is LEAN manufacturing done at Plasmionique?
It is not mass manufacturing, but in LEAN there is a big component of quality management ….
Question 6 (03:40): What is a future growth area for Plasmionique?
Plasma technologies are booming, in general, ….
Question 7 (04:40): Is there anything from your childhood that you still see in you now in your career?
Anita was inspired by her father!
A big thank you to Anita for granting me this interview, and hosting me at Plasmionique together with Dr. Noureddine Oudini. Thank you to Dr. Andranik Sarkissian for co-ordinating my visit to Plasmionique, and also facilitating a visit to the lab of Dr. Emile Carbone at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique. I wish Plasmionique continued success!
