Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1443477
JANUARY 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 25 sure that they prioritize us. at's gone well and we have been able to cope with the growth in a very good way. Johnson: Let's pivot to technology. What are you seeing out of your European customers regarding emerging technology or needs in the boards that they're fabricating? Forsen: Typically, it is the standard board, four to six layers. But we can see that the miniatur- ization demands PCBs get smaller and smaller. at means you must have higher layer count and more complex boards. You can see it slowly trend upward. Johnson: In Europe, what are the design team pain points? What are they struggling with the most that they talk to NCAB about? Forsen: We see a lot of customers struggling with components, meaning that they must redesign a lot of products because they must have a second alternative to the components that they had before. We see custom- ers struggling with component short- age, while getting the PCBs is not their main issue. at means we had to redesign a lot of products. We see new part numbers and new revisions in that way. I think that has been a very general trend this year. Johnson: Is the European market healthy? Is it well-positioned to be sustainable and competitive on a global market? Forsen: I think it's very healthy. We see a trend in that direction, which strengthens the European market. I also think that looking into, espe- cially, the industrial segment then the nearshoring is important in that way. We can see that the EMS or CM companies that are working with high-mix volume are very healthy and growing a lot. Of course, you will not see a lot of pro- duction for the high-volume consumer mar- ket go to Europe; that's already gone. But the trend is showing stronger growth in the indus- trial applications. Johnson: What do you see for the European market in the next three to five years? How is it going to evolve? What's it going to respond to? Forsen: We see growth in most areas. We have reviewed both some external and internal studies, and we see that the consumer mar- ket is not growing as much as before. ere's more growth in industrial and green tech. Many European companies are at the forefront and developing this kind of product. ere are very frequent revision changes, so they are not really gaining on transferring the assembly to Asia. I think the ones that are working with the high mix, low volume, those CMs or EMS companies, seem to be rather healthy and are growing.