The international electronics industry seminar “IPC DAY EMS 2023: “Where have all the orders gone?” is taking place today, on the 30th of November, in Tallinn, Estonia. The seminar brings together international experts and leading European electronics manufacturers, focusing on the economic situation and its impact on the sector in both Estonia and Europe.
According to Arno Kolk, Managing Director of the Estonian Electronics Industries Association, the main organiser of the seminar in cooperation with the IPC, the previous year saw record growth for the Estonian electronics industry, but this year’s figures remained below that high growth period. “Last year, the component crisis affected the global electronics industry, which resulted in component price hikes in tens or even hundreds of times. Prices have normalized with the easing of the supply problems, and the need for large buffers has disappeared. Many companies are now selling their crisis stocks, and new orders are not being placed,” Kolk explains the reasons for the decline.
According to Mr Kolk, the governments in Europe and the US understand the importance of the industry: without local high-tech industry, one cannot talk about the sovereignty of a country or region; the crises and wars of recent years have confirmed this. “The industry means direct jobs and tax revenue for the country, as well as a much larger number of jobs in supporting sectors,” says Kolk. While current demand for electronics industry production has somewhat decreased in certain market segments, in general trends support the growth of the sector – electronics is increasingly used in various products (e.g., cars), there is a growing need for electronics in new 5G networks as well as for enabling the green transition, and production is returning from China to Europe.
The seminar, organized in collaboration with the IPC, a global association for electronics manufacturing, brings together representatives of the electronics industry from across Europe for the sixth time to provide an overview of the industry’s current state and trends, allowing to share best practices. More than 200 participants from 22 countries are attending the seminar this year.
Dr. Mareike Haaß, an analyst from In4ma, will provide an overview of the situation in the European Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) sector, while Arno Kolk, the Managing Director of the Estonian Electronics Industries Association, will discuss the state of the Estonian electronics industry. Analyst Dieter G. Weiss (in4ma) will address the question of the reasons behind the decrease in industry orders. Simon Majer, Vice President of the Raymond James Investment Bank, will present the perspective of investment banks and financial investors on the electronics manufacturing industry.
Dr. Peter Tranitz, Senior Director of Technological Solutions at the IPC, will discuss steps to achieve a resilient Silicon-to-Systems ecosystem in Europe. The seminar will also feature presentations on the digitalization of the electronics industry, and the presidents of Note AB and Inission AB will share company success stories. The day will conclude with a panel discussion of European industry developments and production possibilities, featuring representatives from Eurocircuits, Note AB, CMS Electronics, Vector Blue Hub, Orbit One Group, SG Automotive, Jotel OÜ, and Zollner Elektronik AG.
More detailed information about the seminar can be found at https://estonianelectronics.eu/ipc-ems-day-2023/
The seminar is supported by the IPC, the City of Tallinn, ASMPT, Incap, Arrow, Avnet, EMS Scout, and Inission.
