CiE 2013 Review Q&A

With Nick Jones, Sales Director, WPS Ltd 1) How has 2013 been for your company? This year as a whole has been pretty positive and I believe the UK CEM sector as a whole has grown in the last 12 months. As per normal Q3 was slow and slightly down on 2012 but the year as a whole has been a good one and all indicators for the coming year are good for both existing and new customers. 2) What has been the most significant event to have taken place for your company this year? This year WPS decided to aim to achieve ISO13485, the medical standard. The medical manufacturing market in the UK is huge and we currently have a small slice of it. The decision to aim for ISO13485 accreditation has already opened new opportunities for us with existing customers and once we achieve the required standard early next year it will open up new opportunities with new customers and help us achieve our growth targets for 2014. In addition this year we also invested over £500,000 in new production equipment to expand our manufacturing capabilities. This investment means we are the first CEM in the UK with the capability to assemble boards up to 3m x 1.3m, as a fully automated process, often required for the fast expanding display and lighting markets. 3) How would you describe the current condition of the markets you operate in? The UK CEM market is definitely recovering and there appears to be a little more confidence in the market. Existing customers still aren’t able to give us more than 2-3 months visibility of their requirements but they are placing orders and enquiries from potential new customers are on the increase. I believe the market is healthier than it has been for a number of years. 4) What's exciting you about your sector at the moment and where do the opportunities lay going forward in 2014? Without a doubt the most exciting news in the CEM sector is the reversal of the trend of moving production off-shore and the great opportunities that this will bring to WPS next year. With salaries increasing in parts of Asia added to concerns of counterfeit components, in the UK we are now able to meet the factory gate price of products produced in Asia with the addition of guaranteed delivery dates and build quality. I am very much encouraged about the prospects 2014 will bring.