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It's Only Common Sense: Things Are Looking Up
May 26, 2014 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management GroupEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Editor's Note: To listen to Dan's weekly column, as you've always done in the past, click here. For the written transcript, keep reading...Looking around our industry lately, I sense that it's changing right before our very eyes. I've seen evidence in the past several months that things are changing and, for the most part, changing for the better. I think we must admit that it’s been quite a while since there was something good to say about our market, our technology, and the way our customers view us, but now I feel there are a few trends that indicate room for optimism.
I've been receiving calls from sales reps trying to find board shops to represent. Independent sales reps are looking for board shops for which to sell. When was the last time that happened? I've written a few columns in the past saying that it was pretty much over for the rep/PCB principal relationship, but that now seems to be somewhat of an exaggeration: I've had no fewer than four reps contact me asking me to recommend a good board shop for them to represent. In most cases, their customers are asking for boards made domestically. And, in two instances, reps were asked by customers to provide higher technology boards. In one case it was rigid flex boards and in another it was thermal management boards. They told me they needed shops that could perform, were willing to work with them as partners, and were investing in future technologies. This is a very good sign indeed.
A second trend I’m seeing is that both OEMs and new product development companies are looking to buy more of their products domestically. I've talked to several new product development companies who've told me they want to use domestic sources for the life of the circuit board. These companies are looking for partners to do it all, from proof of design to production; from womb to tomb, as we like to say. When I investigated further these companies actually listed for me the advantages of using a domestic supplier! It was as if they were trying to convince me, which I found very ironic because they were saying the very same things I've been saying in this column for years. They “educated” me on how convenient it is to work with a domestic supplier, how they can actually visit the facility, how great it is to be on the same continent and not have to deal with huge time zone differences, or language issues, or piracy or technology theft. These companies told me how they preferred to be using good old North American vendors.
Another trend I've seen in the past month is that companies are hiring. Companies are looking for all types of PCB professionals, from sales people, to sales managers, to general managers, to engineers, to inside salespeople. These companies want to beef up their sales teams and production teams and they are looking for the right people to fill those positions. There was a time not too long ago when if a salesperson lost his job he was just out of luck. Not so any longer, now they are getting calls. For the first time in a long time American board houses want to invest in good people. They want to be able to bring in smart folks who will take them to the next level. You’ve got to love that!
I'm also seeing a much better attitude with most people I talk to. There's an actual sense of hope I've not seen in a very long time. After years of our industry suffering from a malaise that seemed to be psychologically slowing us all down, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s as though people in our industry are lifting their heads, opening their eyes a little wider, and starting to see a brighter tomorrow.
Another trend is the industry is hiring younger people. I am now working with a number of people in their 30s and one who is actually in her 20s. I love the fact that they are not just passing through, but are instead taking a sincere interest in making a career in the printed PCB industry. They want to learn everything they can about our industry, are passionate, filled with an energy that is refreshing, and have open minds ready to develop new ideas and concepts to contribute to the future of our industry.
If you've not caught the fever yet, it you've not experienced these new trends for yourself, get out there, talk to people, and see what’s going on--it’s all pretty exciting stuff and you don’t want to miss it. It’s only common sense.