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U.K. Manufacturing Still Viable, Say PCB Makers
By Alex Mayhew-Smith -- Electronics Weekly, 9/22/2005
The United Kingdom's two largest remaining PCB manufacturers have rejected claims that it is no longer viable to make PCBs in the U.K. in the wake of Prestwick Circuits closure.
Prestwick Circuits, owned by TT Electronics, plans to close its U.K. manufacturing division by the end of the year, cutting some 250 jobs. It's reason: manufacturing there is no longer cost effective in the face of competition from low-labor-cost areas overseas.
But the remaining printed circuit board makers in the U.K. beg to differ. David Jones, CEO of Invotec, told Electronics Weekly: "I disagree because we continue to do business in the U.K. and do it satisfactorily. It has been a difficult market and a difficult year but our philosophy remains there are market niches within which you can have a pretty good business."
At Circatex, managing director Mark Beesley faulted Prestwick Circuits business business model, rather than the United Kingdom market. "Maybe their business model is not viable in the U.K. but we are not all following the same business model. We saw it coming," Beesley said. "There had to be a consolidation in the market."
Prestwick Circuits will continue to operate in the U.K. as a sourcing business for PCBs made in the Far East.
Invotec's Jones said Prestwick mainly operated in the automotive sector. "We are not big in that sector. It is a very demanding and a very low margin sector. It was a reasonably conscious decision not to go into that sector."
He added that Invotec is strong in the military/aerospace sector, which would not go to the Asia pacific region. "There are some quite good business areas where the volumes are small and not attractive to the Far East. We do not try to compete with the Far East. It is suicidal," Jones observed.
At Circatex, Beesley agreed Prestwick's reputation was as a company operating in the automotive sector. "It is hard to change your reputation. We had a reputation as a higher volume firm 15 months ago and since then we have moved to a higher mix, higher technology model," he said. "[Automotive] is a hard market in which to be viable."
He added that the market is changing rapidly at the moment and that volume requirement is down globally. "The market is extremely volatile," Beesley said. "If the attrition continues we may potentially have to modify our view on pricing and resourcing, but we are not at that point now."
Electronics Weekly is the London-based sister pub of Electronic News.
