IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509763
IPC COMMUNITY 100 FALL 2023 In June, IPC was selected by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) to lead a collaborative electron- ics manufacturing industry effort to author a high level paper that would convey the current state of the European PCB and EMS industries (with a comprehensive SWOT analysis) and provide a list of initial recommendations on how our industry could achieve supply chain resiliency by 2030 in line with the EU's pri- orities for digital and green transitions. The IPC team, led by Alison James, senior director of government relations, and Peter Tranitz, senior director of solutions, convened a group of national electronics trade associations and key industry leaders representing important PCB, EMS, and OEM companies to deliver the report to the Commission at the end of July. The six main recommendations were: • EU and member states declaring the industry's strategic importance for Europe • Strategically aligning the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem with the Chips Act • Supporting factory modernization • Developing a skilled workforce • Creating a level playing field in global trade • Investing in research, development, and innovation The EU was impressed with the initial report (and our ability to submit it within a month) and has asked us for more detailed data and specific policy recommendations. As such, the working group has assembled this fall with a goal of delivering the next paper by the end of November. The 2024 event calendar will feature several new opportunities for IPC to serve the needs of the Pan-European industry. In January, we will host WinterCom in Barcelona. This will represent the first time in IPC's history that our in-person, full committee, standards devel- opment meetings will take place outside the U.S. Regarding this news, IPC Senior Director of Standards Teresa Rowe and IPC Europe Manager of Standards Francisco Fourcade both commented that the process to help bring the most trusted standards to the indus- try is based on collaborating with all the ded- icated volunteers across all regions. They said they are excited to bring these important meetings to Europe as our community helps the world build electronics better. The popular Hand Soldering Competitions will continue to expand eastward; both Tür- kiye and Israel will host these for the first time in Spring 2024. While discussing these exciting developments, IPC Senior Director of Oper- ations Philippe Leonard shared, "Continuing to put the workforce development spotlight on a core skill like soldering is fundamental for these newer markets to expand their elec- tronics manufacturing footprint. The lack of capable workers who can solder is still cited as a key challenge in the industry, so IPC is doing its part to help alleviate that pain point." As part of our community building activities around other key initiatives such as advanced packaging and design, IPC is planning to host