The withdrawal of such an established supplier as Würth from PCB production in Schopfheim hits us, as developers and manufacturers of electronic assemblies, right in the heart. It is a clear signal that electronics production in Germany and Europe urgently needs support in order to remain competitive in the long term.
At CESYS, we work every day on solutions that meet the high demands of industry and research, whether in automation or process control. Our complex FPGA assemblies with high-speed interfaces in particular reflect this demand. We source our PCBs from both Germany and China. While we rely on German production for complex assemblies that require close coordination, simple PCBs are increasingly coming from the Far East. The suppliers there are often unbeatable in terms of price and have now designed their processes so efficiently that they are competitive even for simple electronics. Nevertheless, short delivery routes, sustainability and direct communication channels remain decisive advantages of production in Europe. Beyond the price, however, questions of supply security are increasingly arising. The world has shown us how vulnerable global supply chains can be, and we are convinced that European production must play a key role in reducing these dependencies. At the same time, there are valuable jobs and knowledge at stake that should remain in Europe - also to further promote innovative approaches and high environmental standards. What is perhaps often overlooked: Long-term costs could also shift if transportation costs or environmental tariffs increase, making sustainable European production even more relevant. However, it is not enough just to build new chip factories in the EU. The production of printed circuit boards and their preliminary products must also be a mainstay. If local manufacturers improve their digital processes and simplify procurement, the choice for electronics companies like us will become even more attractive. In this way, European quality can shine in complex projects and strengthen Europe as an electronics location in the long term.
