Manufacturing "On A Growth Curve"

With UK electronics manufacturing increasing, investment in new designs rising and confidence slowly returning to the market, 2013 has been a pivotal year for both us and the CEM sector globally, writes Nick Jones, sales director, Wilson Process Systems. I am delighted to see the UK CEM market is on a definite upward curve and in a recovery phase. However, although there appears to be a little more confidence in the wider market, existing customers still aren’t able to give us more than 2-3 months visibility of their requirements but they are placing new orders, which is always encouraging. New business enquiries from existing and potential new customers have also gradually been increasing throughout the year, which is indicative of an increased investment in new design. A couple of key decisions this year have helped the company boost its market share. Firstly we invested £500,000 in high quality bespoke production equipment that has boosted our general SMT throughput capabilities and given us the ability to manufacture boards as large as 3m x 1.3m, as a fully automated process, that are increasingly required for display and lighting applications. Secondly we took the decision to aim for ISO13485 accreditation for the manufacture of electronic assemblies used in medical applications. The medical equipment market in the UK is enormous and hasn’t suffered from a lack of investment as other markets have. Discussing our intentions for ISO13485 with existing customers has already opened new opportunities for us and once we achieve the required standard early next year I am sure it will open up exciting new opportunities with new customers and help us achieve our growth targets for 2014. As we edge towards 2014 I feel more certain of future investment and growth than I have been for a while. Confidence is slowly returning and I believe the UK CEM market is healthier than it has been for a number of years.