Hans-Jörg Etter, CEO of Optiprint AG, Berneck/Switzerland, explains how the medium-sized company is dealing with the current situation and preparing for the future: Further growth even with a disrupted supply chain is the motto.
Optiprint can maintain its position as a successful PCB manufacturer even in times of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the major challenges it poses. Not only a functioning hygiene concept was required to maintain operations, but now also reactions to the disrupted supply chain.
An additional problem is that it is difficult for many customers to understand that the significantly longer PCB delivery times are due to the disruptions in the supply chain. After all, unlike the PCB manufacturers, they have not been informed by the base material manufacturer that the latter is waiting for firmly promised glass fabric (and common glass fabric at that) for its production and can only give dates when the glass fabric has arrived in Europe from Asia - and nobody knows when that will be.
Optiprint always has a stock of a wide variety of materials in order to be able to supply customers with special PCB assemblies at short notice. This stock was expanded at an early stage. As a result, Optiprint is less affected by the current supply situation than others. Nevertheless, there are problems, especially with the less frequently required materials that are needed for particularly sophisticated PCB assemblies.
In some cases, new, amended order confirmations with significantly later delivery dates are received from suppliers shortly before the contractually agreed delivery date. It is then necessary to look for alternatives and inform customers of the new situation immediately. A medium-sized company like Optiprint AG, which is well-positioned in terms of technology and, in particular, personnel, has an easier time of it than larger corporations.
However, the material supply situation is becoming increasingly difficult, with the result that PCB delivery dates are being postponed more and more. With the current good order situation - many customers are ordering more and earlier as well as many new projects - a wave of orders is building up.
The continuous expansion of resources practiced by Optiprint is also helping here. This is because not only new technological capabilities but also the required higher production capacities are being realized.
The following machines/systems have been newly installed at Optiprint in recent months:
- Additional boffotto plasma system for perforated wall activation (capacity increase), with the gas supply now located outside the building to increase safety
- Two additional Schmoll MX Series milling machines to increase capacity
- OPAL registration system from Printprocess.
Even better registrations with the new OPAL registration systemThemarket is demanding more and more in terms of technology. The telecommunications sector, for example, is using ever higher frequency ranges, resulting in even greater demands on the precision of printed circuit boards and the use of special HF materials or mixed structures. L/S structures below 50 µm are the series standard. The trend for prototypes is towards L/S below 20 µm and, in the longer term, well below 10 µm. The existing machines are only partially capable of this so far. According to Hans-Jörg Etter, it is also exciting that materials with a copper thickness of 70 µm have to be processed at the same time for power electronics. This results in complex requirements for PCB production. The trend towards an even greater mix of materials in multilayer structures is continuing.
In terms of the market, the medical technology sector is particularly important. Overall, the trend is positive: following growth last year, further growth is expected in 2021. Their realization depends on the further development of the material supply situation.
The coronavirus hygiene concept with regular tests at Optiprint AG has proven its worth: there have been no internal infections and operations have been virtually undisturbed, despite the strict home office regulations in Switzerland.
Optiprint AG will continue its strategy of continuous investment in order to offer new PCB technologies and serve the market even more flexibly and economically.
