Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1443477
22 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2022 Feature Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 How has Europe fared during and aer the pandemic? Nolan Johnson speaks with Anders Forsen, CFO of NCAB Group headquartered in Sweden, about the current state of the mar- ket in Europe, how it impacted his company (phenomenal), and where the company is put- ting its focus (think green). Where does China fit into the overall picture? Anders shares valu- able insight that all PCB manufacturers can benefit from. Nolan Johnson: Anders, what's happening in the European region? Anders Forsen: Of course, 2020 was impacted by the pandemic, which continues, but 2021 was a very strong year and we have seen a very robust recovery in almost all sectors. In 2020, we saw a quick downturn in the transporta- tion and automotive sector while med tech increased significantly. We managed to keep our revenue rather close to 2019, and we saw tremendous growth in 2021. We actually see that in all European markets. We are up year by year about 35–40% compared to 2020, so that's huge organic growth. You can also see much is happening in the EV charging and green tech industry. We have many projects sold to EV charging companies. We do a lot in Norway and Germany, as well as customers in Benelux selling to EV charging, so that has been growing extremely quickly. In this green tech area, there is a need for more monitoring systems and to have better control. at creates a big demand for electronics to manage that. We work in this high-mix, low- volume area, which is a typically good area for growth. Some parts of the European market, espe- cially Germany, have been very much driven by automotive because many car manufactur- NCAB Sees Steady Growth