The international electronics seminar “IPC EMS Day – EMS industry recovering from the crisis” was held on 1 December, in Tallinn, Estonia. The seminar brought together international experts and leading European electronics manufacturers, who provided an overview of the latest developments in the sector in the midst of various crises and discussed future trends.
According to Arno Kolk, the Managing Director of the Estonian Electronics Industries Association, the main organiser of the seminar in cooperation with IPC, the electronics industry is one of the few growing sectors in Estonia. “Despite the recent difficult years, when we have been moving from one crisis to another, large investments are being made in the electronics industry, and production is being ramped up to meet the increasing demand. The entire value chain of the electronics sector is covered in Estonia, and more than 250 companies operating in the sector account for nearly a quarter of the country’s industrial exports,” says Kolk.
According to Kolk, the sector has been affected by both the Covid crisis and the subsequent microchip crisis, when the increased demand for electronic products combined with Covid-19 caused component supply disruptions worldwide. “While supply disruptions have largely been resolved by today, they are still ongoing for certain types of electronics components, e.g. in the field of industrial electronics. In addition, we are also indirectly affected by the war in Ukraine. Estonian companies have not purchased much from Russia and Ukraine, but the supply chains are long, and difficulties reach us indirectly as well,” says Kolk.
In cooperation with the global electronics manufacturers association IPC, representatives of the electronics industry from all over Europe were invited to the seminar to exchange the experiences of different countries and share a future vision of the development opportunities of the electronics sector. The seminar was attended by more than 200 participants from 23 countries.
Market analyst Dieter G. Weiss from in4ma gave an overview of the state of the European electronics industry, and Arno Kolk, the Managing Director of the Estonian Electronics Industry Association, provided an overview of the local Estonian electronics sector. Leading European electronics companies Zollner, Incap Corporation, C-MAC, ASMPT and Siemens Electronics Design Automation shared their experiences. In addition, IPC provided an overview of advanced packaging technologies and opportunities. The seminar concluded with the distributors’ panel, who discussed the market situation and trends based on their practical experience gained from daily direct communication with suppliers and customers.
Unfortunately, the originally planned presentation by VD Mais, an electronics company operating in Kyiv, about how it is to operate a factory amid a real war zone, was cancelled due to travel difficulties.
More detailed information about the seminar can be found at: https://estonianelectronics.eu/IPC-EMS-day/
The seminar is supported by IPC, Tallinn City Government, Incap, ASMPT, C-Mac, EMS Scout, Siemens, Arrow and Cadlog.
The Estonian Electronics Industries Association is a modern smart international network for both experienced local electronics manufacturers and start-ups as well as for international electronics manufacturers. With a long history and great future potential, the Estonian elect
