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Nolan’s Notes: Our Spotlight on Europe

The European PCB industry has faced a prolonged decline over the past two decades. Reporting on the EIPC Winter Conference in January, Pete Starkey wrote:

“Europe’s industrial recession continues. Germany’s manufacturing sector has been in continuing decline since mid-2022, and corporate bankruptcies are at a 10-year high. UK electronics sales are down, and France is showing slight signs of recovery after three years of decline. (Presenter Jonathan) Custer observed that while general manufacturing continues to contract in Western Europe, the trend is toward the industrialisation of Eastern Europe, yet R&D and the manufacture of complex systems remain in Western Europe. Predictably, the defence sector, with turnover up by 13.8% and employment up by 8.6%, is performing well. ‘Europe’s electronics industry is shrinking in volume but growing in strategic importance,’ Custer said.”

Custer believes that the European PCB industry is set for steady growth, supported by innovation and localized production, but companies are navigating uncertainties. “Supply chain vulnerability is a serious consideration, particularly since the European industry now has a 100% dependency on non-European materials, and prices are subject to severe inflation,” Starkey wrote.

There are several ongoing themes for PCB manufacturing in the European Union, including Asian competition on price, supply chain volatility, regulatory compliance and environmental standards, fragmented capacity leading to strategic dependency, and the rise of capital intensity due to technological complexity. In this issue of SMT007 Magazine, we look at how Europe is responding to these challenges.

Alison James, who leads government relations in Europe for the Global Electronics Association, updates us the EU Chips Act and the Association’s call-to-action letter emphasizing the strategic importance of defense to European PCB manufacturing. While there are simultaneous challenges, James is hopeful. “This is a key moment for EU electronics manufacturing,” she says. We’re also including more of Pete Starkey’s report from EIPC, which thoroughly covers both technical and financial topics.

Europe’s non-military business is strongly built around automotive OEMs, where reliability and sustainability continue to drive development. As such, Diana Radovan, the Association’s sustainability policy director, shares updates on both PFAS and the EU’s Omnibus bill. Stan Rak continues his series on reliability in EVs, with a look at vehicle safety systems.

Continuing our business coverage in Europe, we spoke with the leadership at the UK’s Connexion Technologies and Italy’s OMR Italia to learn more about their recent strategic partnership to leverage their respective strengths. Their goal is to improve their competitiveness by working together, rather than separately. We also spoke to Christian Thers of SMT Renting, a Denmark-based business with a unique model to help lower barriers to capital upgrades.

In fact, it’s Craig Wright, CEO of Connexion Technologies, who makes the hopeful statement, “Resilience isn’t about replacing global supply chains; it’s about strengthening the European layer within them. The future of manufacturing in Europe will be more collaborative, more connected, and more specialised.”

Rounding out the issue, Brian Buyea of Remtec continues his increasingly popular column on how packaging choices affect performance.

As defense priorities in Europe grow and supply chains are reassessed, and as industry and policymakers push to rebuild regional capability, you will undoubtedly hear more about Europe’s strengthening electronics ecosystem. Never underestimate this region of the world. They always find a way to come back stronger.

This column originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of SMT007 Magazine.