Electronic engineering and production in Europe currently seem to be in a state of uncertainty and are confronted with some very serious questions, such as: how long will it take to stabilize the euro and what is it all going to cost; how deep is the economical and social divide in the countries located along the Mediterranean coast; and to what extent do the people in power actually understand that social benefaction has its price? Furthermore, when general unemployment is as high as 20% – and approaching 50% among younger people – what is it economically viable to do in order to solve the conundrum? All these open issues are having direct impact on the EU’s business climate.
In contrast with others, Germany and a handful of neighboring countries are still experiencing remarkably good business figures, thanks to their superior positions in the markets for electronics, cars, automation and machinery – and due to this they feel more or less settled on their respective islands. Any headaches that might appear are not as dramatic as in the southern European countries. Nevertheless, there are also some imminent problems: the fall in car sales figures, for example, cannot easily be compensated by the successes of the electronics systems and parts suppliers or the EMS companies and their activities. The uncertain path to green and sustainable energy-providing systems, coupled with the plunge of the European solar energy (PV) industry, means we still have a difficult, cost-intensive and very long development cycle before us. Not many players will survive. Moreover, we can’t ignore the fact that the countries in the common currency system that are in deep debt are calling to the better performing countries for aid.
But it is not all doom and gloom and malfunction in European industry and its main, prominently situated activities. German premium car manufacturers report that they have tremendously increased their sales figures in China and the US. The main driving force behind engineering and highly efficient solutions – those thousands of small and mid-sized companies in Europe – are continuously presenting innovative improvements and cost-reducing capabilities to existing processes, equipment and machines.
Looking at the upcoming top events in the electronics business in central Europe, there are signs of a promising outlook. People aren’t talking about a downturn now; they foresee consolidation at a high level and expect anything from a slight to a dynamic recovery in the next few months. The upcoming SMT-Hybrid-Packaging in Nuremberg (April 16 to 18) is a suitable gauge: organizers expect some 23,000 visitors, and the products and solutions of more than 630 companies will be on display – international participation of about 40% is expected. Then, at the end of the year (November 12 to 15) we have the Productronica in Munich: here the numbers regarding interest and participation are a good bit higher: about 1,250 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors are likely and the international proportion of them should touch 50%.
We can expect these special events to bring about huge momentum in the European electronics business arenas. They will fuel the demand for engineering and equipment that will inspire audiences to produce even more outstanding work providing even higher customer value. Yes, optimism is back.
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