Competitive PWB manufacturing: what is needed to maintain a viable industry in Europe?

There are an increasing number of predictions on the future of the European PWB manufacturing industry stating that Europe is becoming increasingly uncompetitive in the field of PWB manufacture and that, as a result, the European PWB manufacturing industry will collapse as OEMs and assemblers seek to source their PWBs from other regions of the world. This paper will review the competitive position of Europe in the global marketplace. Global technology, differing regional manufacturing cost structures, individual company financial expectations and other influencing factors such as governmental policy and environmental legislation will be discussed in detail. Reasons both “for” and “against” an indigenous European PWB source will be developed and compared and contrasted. This paper will then seek to develop potential “winning” business strategies to ensure the survival of PWB manufacture in the region.