in a good position to source the skilled staff for those facilities. Advantech has got a strong name and is a good reputation so that's no problem.”
Te skills shortage isn’t solely limited to manufacturing, but also to engineering expertise, explains Derek. “Tere is a massive shortage of skilled engineers in the UK. We’ve got a couple of apprentices here that we're mentoring and supporting through their degrees. What we do is a transferable skill, but you've also got to have the person with the right mentality. It's not just a qualification. What we do here is bespoke.
“If you have a background in design and PC motherboards, the front two thirds of our boards you'll understand like the back of your hand, but the rest is completely proprietary. Even if you're an industry expert with years of experience you still couldn't achieve that level of understanding without having been here so whenever we take someone on there's always a significant training element.”
Stateside, Advantech has started construction for new headquarters in California. Tis will comprise a substantial office building hosting up to 500 staff as well as a sub-assembly configuration to order centre. As of now this won't be an SMT line, but the capacity is there if required.
“All these investments are unique to Advantech and the industry,” says Edward. “Primarily our US offices are operations, sales, back-office functions, and sub-assemblies. But when you approach the level of technical complexity in the boards we’re manufacturing, the requisite skills are largely restricted to the Far East, as is the supply chain for the raw materials, the chips, and the silicon.
“It's a global challenge that will take decades to solve but it’s important we do so given the instability we’re seeing in certain areas of the world.”
INTEL, AMD, INTEL, AMD
means it can do things wherever they'd like. “Te facilities we have are very impressive and their continued expansion is part of our ongoing strategy,” expands Edward.
“I was recently in Taiwan to see the incredible investments we've made. Our current manufacturing capacity is around 700,000 pieces a month. Te investments planned over the next couple of years will look to double that capacity.
“However, the global supply chain downstream of us remains an issue. We will continue to invest, but a huge percentage of raw materials are sourced from Asia, namely China and Taiwan. No matter where your factory is located, you've still got the challenge of materials being supplied to manufacture. Tat's why we're focusing most of our manufacturing in Asia.
“Te downstream supply chain is still something that's restricted to that area of the
world. Now you've also got the CHIPS Act in the US, as well as investments being made in countries such as Germany and Ireland. I think it’s a good thing that the world is starting to take notice and manage the risk going forward.”
SKILLS SHORTAGE
Recognising the need to localise chip- manufacturing, Edward adds that significant investment is required to give staff in these new facilities the requisite skills. “We can get a building up quickly, but that doesn’t give us a product. Tat’s why we're focusing most of our factories – in terms of the SMT line - in the Far East, because that is where the skill sets are concentrated. It just doesn't exist in the UK or Europe right now.
“Upskilling needs to happen if we're going to divest from one area of supply where there might see challenges in the future. We've had a base in China and Taiwan for decades, so we're
Advantech has been collaborating closely with Intel for over a decade as a premier titanium- level partner, a relationship Edward identifies as critical for the business. Te partnership gives Advantech access to silicon designs early, meaning the Gaming Solutions division can be quick to market.
Despite AMD’s change in strategy that will see the company move away from the gaming industry, Advantech has and continues to rotate between launching AMD and Intel products, adds Derek. Customers have specific preferences for one or the other, so the business strives to keep both product line-ups as fresh as possible. Te DPX-M266, the latest product in its DPX-M Series gaming platform range that uses the AMD Ryzen Embedded R2000 processor, follows that philosophy.
“Each series is aimed at a different market, sector, and application,” explains Derek. “Some are more point of sale whilst others are tailored towards regulated gaming with all the extra financial and regulatory requirements involved. Each fits a different sector within the marketplace. Te DPX-M266 takes advantage
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176
