FEAT RE FEA ATURE


CO


CONTRAC MANACT MANUFAC


ACTUR


RIING & PCB S


PCBS BRINGING BUSINESS HOM E BRINGING BUSINESS HOME DavidO’Keeffe,opera Manufact rers (OEMs) to brin


David O’Keeffe, facturers


eff ffe operati ns director of rationsdirect facturers (OEMs) tobri g m rector of Trojan, sugg ofTroj ojan, sugge ts th re re to ringmanufactfacturingfacturin back to th


gests therearenumero ck totheUK.. H re’smore


rousopport rtu ties fo Here’s m reonwhy?


rtuniities for O gn y?


forOriigiinalEquipment


According to figures fromthe Electronic Components SupplyNetwork (ECSN), the CEMsector in the UK and Ireland at the start of 2016 in terms of demand accounted fo r t of all electronic


,


components by value. more than 40 per cen


O’Keeffe sugge


theway forw serv


rt gests that solutionsmust come


handinhandwithsuchdemandandwhat industry


ve rviceswill only incre


back to theUK, butCEMfirmshave tobe smarter andmore


re efficient inord more demanding customer require


ry4.0canbring to the tablemaywell be rward.He believes demandforCEM reasewithwork coming


rder tomanage rements.


ov ge


There remain challenges faced by the CE M sector.O’Keeffe claims the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016will provide both opportunities and challenges to all industry


ry sectors, including CEM.


In the immediatewake of the vote, Sterling has come under pressure fromthe other maj aga


ajor traded currencies, falling in value gainst both the Euro


rewas once a timewhen the design and manufacturing of electronic goodswould all happen under one roof. The search for great efficiency and lower costs gradually changed this and themaj companies now


T here ajority of electronics owoutsource themanufacturing


of their products to specialist factorieswith the capacity andworkf process cost-efficient.


kforce tomake the ke


Basic economics around the cost of labour has also driven large


ge swathes ofmanufacturing


overseas. The destinations of choice have been the Far East for consumer products an d Eastern Europe for industrial products.


Yet this trend has started to reverse in recent years. Concerns about the cost of offshore production, a desire for better quality, shorter lead times andmore flexibility are just some of the principalmotives that have prompted many companies tomovemanufacturing back to the UK.


The UK has never completely lost the ability tomake these products. It has preserv solid, core, contractmanufacturing sector, which has nowstarted growing aga


rved a gain asmore


companies reshore theirmanufacturing needs. One beneficiary of this trend has been ojan,which is based in Sw


Troj Swansea and has


been operational for fifteen years. The company offers a comprehensive Contract ElectronicManufacturing (CEM) service, perf


rv rforming awide range of services fromPCB rv 14 14 OCTOBER 201 BER 2016 | ELEC RO ELECTRONICS CS


assembly (both through hole and surface mount) cable assemblies and electro- mechanical assemblies, through to complete product build.


,


“OEMs should focus on assessing the costs of off-shoringmanufacturing against the flexibility of local production and really look at the benefits that exist for using manufacturing serv


outsourcing overseas to former production giants like China,” says DavidO’Keeffe, operations director of Troj The company is


also very proactive in ojan.


testing and, if suitable, embracing new technologies to ensure its service is as cutting edge as possible. Troj


rv ro ojan claims this


approach keeps the company one step ahead of its rivals.


O’Keeffe believes the future of CEMwill undoubtedly be tied to industry 4.0,where automation and data exchange


ge in


manufacturing technologieswill continue to grow. It goeswithout saying that technology develops rapidly and changes thewa y companieswork.


“CEMs have to keep upwithwhat’s newor will simply be left behind. Being ignorant and not reacting to newtechnologies could ruin somemanufacturers. It’s common to fear change, but in our line ofwork, you have to embrace it or suffer the consequences,” saysO’Keeffe.


Figure 1: Figure 1:


Since it was formed nearlyiS nce it was formed nearly 15 years ago, Trojan has


5 yearsrs ago, TrojTrojan has grown steadigrown steadily but hasly but has specifspecifically seen demandically seen demand for its services rise in


as


for its services rise in recent ye


seek a reliable rvices in the UK rather than


recent years as companiesrars seek a reliable


manufacturing partner close to home


manufacturing partner close to home


ro and US Dollar. The


devaluation hasmeant an increase in the imported price of some components and assemblies, but on the flip side, it hasmade the UK goods significantly cheaper to expor t. “This nets to a competitive advantage for UK-based production and has already led to an increase in activity for Troj


s as companies what the shape the UK’s exit fromthe EU will take, but one thing that is known is great businesses producing quality always surv


rvive,”O’Keeffe says. “In times of great change ge, those


companies can actually thrive.We are making sureweminimise any advers e effects fromBrexit, so thenwe are best placed tomaximise on the opportunities thatwillmanifest themselves over the comingmonths and years.”


Indeed, the Financial Times reported at the start of August that ‘…the indicator for manufacturing output remainswell above the levels seen during the last recession.’ O’Keeffe too is optimistic. “Nowis not really the time to panic, but look at


ow


prospects.We are confident CEMwill grow over the next fewyears andwe have t o remain optimistic, continue to provide a high quality serv


ov rvice and prove thatwe are better than our overseas competitors,” he says. Troj ojan www.trojanelectronics.co.uk oj


www.trojanelectronics.co.uk 01792 469020


/ ELECTRONICS ELECTRONICS ,


and beyond. It’s too early to yet knowexactly


ojan fromEurope ow


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