OE-A Business Climate Survey: Printed Electronics Industry Proves Resilience

The  biannual survey conducted by OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association), a working group within VDMA (Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, indicates that the printed electronics supply chain from material suppliers to end users see opportunities ahead.

“Our industry has proved to be resilient in the last year. The positive trend which we have seen at the beginning of this year has stabilized,” said Dr. Klaus Hecker, OE-A managing director, the results of the latest business climate survey.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a setback for the flexible and printed electronics industry, but the industry has largely recovered this year. More than 80% of the survey participants expect the printed electronics industry to grow in 2021. With an expected 13% sales revenue growth, the PE community turns out to be slightly more optimistic compared to their forecast from spring 2021 (in February 2021, a growth of 11% was forecasted).

Companies see an increasing recovery in customer demand, especially in Europe and the US, while the Asian market remains more challenging. For 2022 a continuation of this pos-itive trend is anticipated and a “back to normal” business is likely by summer. The com-panies expect a stable growth in revenue of 14% in 2022. This growth is expected along the entire value chain.

“These good prospects are only clouded by the supply chain challenges. Lockdowns caused significant supply-side disruptions, even post COVID, companies will also be confronted with challenges in the global value chain. Especially the tense situation in the supply of chips, materials, and components for our major user industries, have prevented an even better forecast,” added Dr. Hecker. Among the most important user industries for printed electronics applications are top rated consumer electronics, automotive and medical & pharmaceutical.

Furthermore, the employment situation is also encouraging: 77% of the responding com-panies plan for a stable employment situation, with 23% planning to increase their staff. According to the survey, the investment situation is very promising, more than 85% of the survey participants plan to increase their investment in production in the upcoming six months, emphasizing the positive outlook. Almost three quarters of the companies stated to increase their R&D activities over the next six months.

“I take these as very good signs for our industry. Continuous research work and invest-ment in production will strengthen and foster our industry’s innovative power,” concluded Dr. Hecker.