Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1487920
58 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2022 Johnson: You mentioned some growth for ICAPE Group outside of China as well. How much of that can we talk about? Duigou: Yes, that's a good question. Our goal is to manufacture 20% of our projects outside of China in the next five or six years. at's our goal because more and more customers are asking us to buy outside of China. It's a very ambitious goal, but we are on the right track. For example, we bought a PCB factory in South Africa two years ago. We have another tar- get in Europe, but it's too early to tell, and we also bought a small PCBA plant in the United States because a certain number of customers requested it. We are also looking at suppliers able to manufacture complex technologies outside of China like in Taiwan, Malaysia, Sin- gapore, and so on. Johnson: Let's talk about complex technolo- gies. Obviously, these are a market driver. Customers are moving in that direction. What are your customers telling you about com- plex technologies? What are they asking for? Where do you see ICAPE Group going on the roadmap to provide what the customers are asking for regarding advanced technologies? Are they moving to a smaller space and trace, or maybe additive for certain applications? As they're shiing down into that sort of space, what are the specific sorts of technologies that your customers are looking for? Duigou: ey ask a lot for flex-rigid, more than 10 layers, or HDI. ey are also looking for quality. ere are always issues with delivery time. ey are not satisfied with what they have come to find in the European market, so they try to find solutions outside of it. We are trying to find some solutions for them, but it's for very high technologies as many man- ufacturers in Europe are overloaded because of the situation in Ukraine; for exam- ple, orders are increasing but they don't have enough production capacity. Johnson: Which markets are driving the advanced technology demand the most? Where are the hot applications? Duigou: Automotive, defense, aerospace, med- ical, and IoT. Sellam: It can be also smartwatches that have very fine pieces. Johnson: Right, most of the customers are try- ing to work in more advanced technologies for you. You're not seeing much of the standard consumer-grade sort of work. Duigou: We already have our organic and acqui- sition growth target. For this year, it's good. I think we will hit the target, but we will see about next year. Sellam: It's going to be a little bit more difficult, at least at the beginning of next year. Just this morning, my customers were talking about component prices, which seem like they will improve in the second half of next year. is is already good news. Several customers have