To remain globally competitive and bring successful high volume products to the market, the UK’s few remaining oases of CEMs and EMS providers need to be on their guard continuously, not by rolling with the punches, but by adapting, assessing and utilising global resources.
“The UK electronics industry, with its long history of innovative design and manufacture, continues to punch well above its weight in the face of fierce competition from high technology global opponents,” stated Plextek’s manufacturing engineer, Dave Wolfe.
But is the UK still a viable source for electronics design and manufacturing expertise, or are customers increasingly looking overseas to obtain the electronics capability that enables successful transition of their designs from concept into production?
“The UK is well positioned to design and produce cutting edge electronics using its wealth of highly skilled product designers and specialist manufacturing skills,” Wolfe continued. “And instead of comparing offshore labour costs, other factors are now coming into play, such as energy costs, transport infrastructure and communication of technical details. Economic stability has, to some extent, become more significant in high volume product manufacture. Taking these factors into account may well tip the balance in favour of the UK for the manufacture of many specialised product designs.”
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