Computer, cell-phones or household appliances, electronics belong to our everyday life and living without those objects would be unthinkable. In France, the sector employs about 42.000 people which corresponds to 3000 companies in activity, and among them, 86% are SMEs. In France, the turnover of those companies specialized in the electronic sector reaches 98 billion euros, while 40% of the turnover is covered by the exportations. The sector is forward-looking, moreover, the sharp variations of the market may threaten the future of the electronic companies.
Current state of the market
Different company types and sizes process electronic products, they process components according to their size and needs and then delegate the remaining production to other suppliers. Therefore, the electronic sector is a far reaching sector employing many people but also involving different types of companies working together to offer a finished product corresponding to a constantly evolving demand. As a consequence, the sector has to take in account the market variations which obviously have a great impact on the electronic machinery market. Indeed, the machinery suppliers also have to adapt to the constant development of new technologies in order to offer competitive, flexible machines. On another hand, the last technological advances tend to opt for a systematic miniaturisation of all devices that keep on getting lighter, smaller, better. The same phenomenon is observed with the increase of automate functions. Therefore, many types of machines are involved in the process of production, up to the processing of electronic components to their assembly, conditioning and storage.
The ELECTRA Initiative
However, the sector registered a fall in its production to the benefit of China, even though the trend should tend to reverse following the recent complaints about local salaries and the seek for a better quality of the buyers. Europe recently decided to focus on this last point and developed a strategy called ELECTRA. This initiative is aiming for a greater cooperation and renewing of some targeted industrial sectors such as the energy efficiency, telehealth equipment, electromobility, numerical infrastructures and renovations in general. The project originates from a close cooperation between the european greatest manufacturers of the electronic sector and the european commission, with the ultimate goal of guiding current measures taken by the european union in order to develop national plans dealing with the energy efficiency.
Nevertheless, to remain a strong sector the electronic manufacturers will have to focus on some targeted sectors such as the medical, security and the energy sector in order to maintain their hold on the market.
