A frank exchange of views

A panel of experts assembled by distribution trade body afdec suggests there still remains a tremendous amount of opportunity for UK electronics. Moderating the panel, afdec chairman Adam Fletcher noted: “The conclusions derived from the panel in one hour would have normally taken many days of government lobbying and activity.” Held at the Metropole Hotel, Birmingham to coincide with the first day of Nepcon 2007, the discussion provided an insight into the thinking of some the UK’s electronics industry leaders. Addressing the topic ‘The next five years in the UK Electronics Components industry’, the panel touched on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the threats to the electronics industry and to the UK. “Truly innovative companies are prepared to look beyond the UK for opportunities,” Fletcher claimed. “To really engage, we need to go after the bigger Far Eastern markets.” The panel included the frank observations of Ollie Althorpe, managing director of ST Microelectronics, Tim Goodship, DTI’s electronics and IT services unit deputy director, Prof Martin Goosey, industrial director of the Innovative Electronics Manufacturing Research Centre, Dick Oram, managing director of Murata Europe, Dr Colin Smithers, managing director of Plextek and Harry Tee, chairman of the Electronics Leadership Council. Opportunities identified by the panel for UK companies included polymer electronics, flexi displays, alternative energy sources, nanotechnology and printed digital electronics. Security and healthcare were highlighted as key growth industries, whilst tapping into the potential of growing markets in China and India was high on the agenda. However, the panel was also alive to the potential threats place on UK industry with skills shortages and the abject lack of UK students pursuing an engineering based education. On a more light-hearted note, one panellist suggested that some engineers are sometimes seen as boring people and unlikely to stimulate young minds! Which lead onto one of the weaknesses identified by the panel: namely the fact that electronics is still perceived as an unattractive industry for young children to get into. One final note was the feeling that the UK electronics industry has fragmented to the extent that it no longer has one single powerful voice. “We need a champion,” a panellist chimed. Sadly, it seems that we just don’t shout about our UK successes enough!