Tough Q1 & Q2 of 09

The month of April was an especially tough month for the PCB industry. Many firms had not seen bookings as low as April’s in 10 years. For many companies, April was a month that came along with hard decisions about cut backs and the financial future of their business. We had heard all along about the horror stories of PCB Shops in America closing their doors and it seemed like we had heard about at least 1 per month. In April, the latest announcement came from Universal Manufacturing in Seattle, WA. While we all desire to pick up new business, it is never wanted at the expense of another company’s livelihood.

‘And it came to pass’ as the Bible say sand so April passed, then May, then June, July and we are now starting into August; each month providing slightly better results than the previous. We too had to make tough decisions in May; new strategies were implemented and new marketing plans were created; costs were dramatically lowered and we have emerged out of the gloomy months leaner, more focused and poised for strong future profitability.

Rebounding Q3 & Q4?

On a national level the economy has been taking a slight turn in the positive direction. Good news for everyone as we stabilize and drift slowly towards an economy that will support growth again for the Printed Circuit Board industry.

For Industry news, these articles provide very positive news:

Key word: PCB PCB Makers Profit Growth (Dated July 22^nd 2009)

Market watchers have estimated PCB makers HannStar Board and Advence Printed Circuit Board (APCB) enjoyed significant profit growth in the second quarter, whereas Unimicron Technology managed to return to profitability.

HannStar Board shipped 15.9 million notebook PCBs in the second quarter, up 32.5% from the first. Orders for PCBs used in Xbox 360 games consoles also increased, said the company.

Fellow companies Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board (NPC), Tripod Technology, Yu Fo Electronic and Dynamic Electronics are also expected to have seen profit growth in the second quarter, the sources added.

Key word: PCB     8-10%growth (Dated July 20^th 2009)

Advence Printed Circuit Board (APCB) expects revenues from its plants in Taiwan and China to both grow 8-10% in third-quarter 2009 mainly due to increasing demand for PCBs used in notebook cameras.

APCB reported net profits of NT$178 million (US$5.42 million) for second-quarter 2009, more than four times the amount recorded in the first, which has helped the company to turn profitable. Profits contributed from China in the second quarter increased NT$58 million to NT$105 million.

APCB has received orders worth a total of NT$200 billion for July, and expects to see its monthly consolidated revenues grow 8% to NT$430 million.

In addition to notebook webcam products, CMOS PCBs will also be APCB’s key growth driver in the future. LED packaging and LED light bar PCBs are also expected to boost APCB’s growth, said the company.

APCB: PCB capacity, July 2009
Region	Capacity	Applications	Revenue share	Profit share
Taiwan	300,000 square feet	LED packaging boards, LED light bar boards, CMOS PCBs	55-60%	50%
China	1.6 million square feet	Controller boards, networking PCBs, opto-electronics PCBs	45-50%	50%

Targeting the Future

PCB Solutions continues to dedicate itself to doing what it does best…delivering high-quality PCBs at a low cost and better lead times than larger firms. We service the small to medium sized companies that don’t have the resources to run off-shore and being to have the experience of dealing with the Chinese and their style of business.

We want to be the best in the world at delivering PCBs in this manner. As we have gone through the challenging 1^st half of 09 and changed so many aspects of the business, we feel a strong sense of confidence as we push to grow our business with a new marketing plan focused on Flex and Rigid Flex PCBs along with improving pricing and lead times of Rigid Printed Circuit Boards.

Flex and Rigid Flex Printed Circuit Boards

Our strategic move to add a 4^th Chinese supplier in 08 has proved to be a wise one. While qualifying a quality Flex and Rigid-Flex PCB shop is what we were hoping for, getting a U.S. based sales consultant that is hands down the best we have worked was simply a double win for the company.

Our new sales engineer has added an unprecedented level of knowledge and insight to designing and producing Flex and Rigid Flex Printed Circuit Boards. We now have the ability to help customers with their Flex needs AND also help them design their Flex and Rigid Flex PCBs. With a few of our clients, already this situation has proved to be a substantial help to lowering the price and increasing the customer service level when dealing with an off-shore vendor. You are now dealing with the factory when you are dealing with PCB Solutions.

Improvements to our website www.pcb-solutions.com continue on a weekly basis and our Flex and Rigid Flex pages will be filled with details on how to design and manufacture and Flex or Rigid Flex Printed Circuit Board. http://pcb-solutions.com/flex.htm

Summary

PCB Solutions moves forward in a very positive direction in the 2^nd half of 09. We have positioned ourselves to provide better quality products, services and lead times in the upcoming months and years ahead. We are excited about the future of PCB Solutions!

James Brown

V.P. Sales & Marketing

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm and is filed under PCB Market Monitor, PCB Solutions Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.