European PCB makers are getting fewer

In the UK the number of PCB manufacturers has nearly halved since 2000 down to 55 firms. It is well known that the lower labor costs in China, for instance, has driven European electronics companies offshore. Significantly improved quality, which for a long time was the Europeans's strength, in those low-cost regions makes it even more difficult for European companies to compete. Circatex, for example, has made an effort to shorten it's lead-times and other companies are also using shorter lead-times as a competition benefit. “You have to be fast, flexible and first class,” says Derek Mansfield, MD of Prestwick Circuits.