Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1456062
36 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2022 If you are looking then at a national level you asked specifically about France. e gov- ernment is very focused on these discus- sions around strategic autonomy and strategic industries. A couple of years ago, they recog- nized electronics across the chain with a stra- tegic committee that includes EMS compa- nies and that has engaged printed circuit board companies. As part of their recovery package in 2020, they put money into various areas of technology and, more broadly, into re-indus- trialization. ey aim to bring industries back and modernize them. Some printed circuit board companies have received funds from their recovery package to upgrade production lines amongst other projects. It's detailed on the government websites but talking to indi- vidual companies gives a much clearer idea of the projects concerned. Now, some of these investments are linked to European funding, but France is relatively unique in looking across the chain. It does get complicated as you need to look at what each company is doing. How much are you involved in microelectronics? Are you engaging in Euro- pean projects? Second, as we were saying, the European CHIPS Act is not just chips; it's also advanced packaging. ere are a few things going on. Johnson: So far, we've talked about semicon- ductor fabrication and packaging in Europe. What about board fab and assembly? James: Well, exactly. What about fabrication and assembly? It's not the primary focus of the European CHIPS Act. But is there a specific action at the European level specifically around printed circuit boards? No. Europe has the same issue as the United States. We are down to about 4.4% share of global production in Europe, and that's down from 20–30% in the '80s. We've con- tinued to go down over the last 20 years. Similar to the United States, it certainly should be pri- oritized a lot more. It doesn't get the focus that the chips get by any means. And that's something that the industry would obviously like to see across Europe—a medium- to long-term perspective on reinvig- orating the industry in Europe. With assem- bly, they haven't spelled out something specif- ically on EMS in any measure. But it's compli- cated because Europe is doing quite a lot with modernization of factories, what we would call Factory of the Future with measures around AI and data. Of course, EMS companies want to have access to semiconductor chips, but they would also like to have access and make sure there's a secure supply of printed circuit boards. It's a bit disjointed; there isn't, "Here is a measure, which is dedicated to EMS." We don't have that, but Europe does a lot on digi- tization, Industry 4.0, or Factory of the Future. Johnson: at's in a general sense, across all industries? James: Yes. In our silicon-to-systems approach, we would like to see a full-blown electronics strategy to reinvigorate the industry so that you're not just making chips, but making sure you have a secure supply of the boards, that the Alison James