With momentum to new trade connections

And as this presentation was made for the very first time at Electronica, it was also a historic event, helpful and indispensable at the same time. To date, German businesses have become their most important commerce partners making up a volume of 30 % (about 51 bn euro) of the entire foreign Czech trade.

This remarkable situation between Czech and German trade partners has seen growth from 2006 to 2007 by 11.5 % in value, and even for the current financially critical year 2008, the CZ ministry of industry and trade (MPO) expects a positive trend following this development. From the German business side these trade connections to the Czech Republic are also obviously very important. They account for 3.4 % of the whole German import and for 2.7 % of export value, and with these figures take rank number 12 in foreign trade activities. These tangible results of good cooperation between neighbors put CZ foreign trade business with German companies at second place with the so-called “new” EU member states, just behind the little more substantial German trade ties with Polish partners. (Although – from the author’s understanding – these areas of Europe have essentially always been central parts of the “old” continent. So far the term “new” just attributes to the most recent geopolitical correction measures in our latest common European history.)

Just behind the more actively spending investors from the Netherlands it is German financiers who form the second largest group of entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic. Since 1993 they invested the huge amount of about 15 bn euro which is more than 20 % of the entire direct investments in the country during this time span. It is also noteworthy that the already mentioned Czech & Moravian Industry Association works as the representative of the German ZVEI (German Electrotechnical & Electronic Industry Association) which also underlines the strong ties in this industry between the two countries. And the CZ association is also the representative of Siemens AG which is the largest foreign employer in the Czech Republic. It was reportedly Siemens, among other companies, who has aided in the transformation of the Czech electrical industry into a modern and competitively viable commerce, as noted by association VP Pavel Kafka in his comment.

The CZ electrotechnical and electronic industry ranks third place in regard to its turnover, right after the manufacturers of transport machines and the metallurgy business, with a total volume of 527 bn Czech koruna (about 21 bn euro). These are approximately 21.5 % of the values which have been produced from the entire Czech industry in 2007. The electrotechnical industry employs a total of 210,000 people. The statistics also reveal that still 44 % of the turnover is generated with heavy current electrical technology, whereas 58 % of all people are employed in this industry segment. In the meantime, the computer technology segment has drastically grown, providing 24 % of sales with a mere 5 % of the employees. Other industry sections are dealing with the manufacture of components, TV, audio and telecommunication and professional broadcasting equipment (21 %), as well as measurement and instrumentation and automation and medical equipment (11 %). The connections of the Czech electrotechnical and electronic industry to other European countries are very strong. (Maybe president Vaclav Klaus in the Hradschin over Praha, a proven skeptic in European matters, will take interest in this fact.) The lion’s share (92 %) of the exported goods of the Czech electrical industry goes to the other European countries, and no wonder as some 54 % of the imported electrical goods come from these countries. The important position of the CZ electrical and electronic industry becomes also apparent when we have a look at the enormous foreign investments which account for 30 % of the total investments from abroad, only surpassed from the money streams into the diverse automotive manufacturing sites of the country.

Four Czech universities and two manufacturing companies also presented their strengths and expertise in short synopses during this event at Electronica. These are – from the academic side – departments of the Czech Technical University in Praha, as well as of the Technical Universities of Brno, Ostrava and Plzen. They do a lot of R&D in charge of domestic and foreign industrial companies, and also within the programs from the European Framework. They are involved in the development of practical solutions as well as in more fundamental research. It goes without saying that they are focused on all areas of electronics, computer and manufacturing technologies. This stretches as an example from electronic control for cars with hydrogen-driven engines, to organic electronics, microelectronics and nanotechnology.

A total of 22 companies from the Czech Republic were present at Electronica this year, and just two of them may serve as examples for the others. This is the fourth time that PragoBoard, a manufacturer of PCBs, has come to Electronica as an exhibitor. One of their specialties are complex rigid multilayer PCBs featuring delicate fine-pitch structures, also provided with copper-plated blind and buried vias. With their flex-rigid PCBs, another area of expertise, this product range encompasses virtually everything, from very simple PCB designs up to highly sophisticated boards with multilayers having different thicknesses in every rigid layer. Substrates are also manufactured now for highest frequency circuits. And for the last two years they’ve also delivered laser-cut paste-print stencils for the SMT assembly process.

Another good example of an advancing business is the EMS-company Wendell Electronics from Lanskroun, established only six years ago. It is reportedly their aim to compete energetically with Asian companies in their field of business. Wendell provides all assembly services needed, from manual insertion and soldering of small batches to fully automated SMT processes in large production volumes. The final assembly of the units produced, material procurement, board design or optimization, test and run-in/burn-in, and the coordination of other supplier cooperation complements this offer. The EMS-company is certified according to ISO, has about 200 employes and sees its position as a strong, competent and attractive provider of manufacturing services for high volumes (monthly throughput about 100 million SMDs), as well as for smaller quantities usually needed in Europe. Since its foundation, the company has constantly invested substantial amounts in modern high-performance equipment in order to supply high quality service to its customers.

In a nutshell: joining the EU in 2004 has revitalized existing forces and opened up new resources in the Czech Republic, significantly advancing the economical situation. It is not only a country with lower labor costs (approximately 8 euro/hour) than EU average (averaging 30 euro/hour), but it can also impress with high quality, excellent work ethics and a stable political environment.

Gerhard B. Wolski

EPP Europe 514