On-shoring
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 4/1/2004
It's almost impossible to pick up a newspaper without finding an article on the steady offshoring of US manufacturing operations and white-collar jobs—3.3 million of which will be shipped to other countries by 2015, according to a recent report in the New York Times. Given that, it was refreshing to see many international vendors of capital equipment for the electronics-manufacturing industry reaching out for American customers at the APEX show held in February in Anaheim, CA. (See pp. 7 and 13 for APEX news.)
For example, Digitaltest (Blankenloch, Germany) and Seica (Strambino, Italy) demonstrated PCB test equipment, and Viscom (Hannover, Germany) highlighted its line-up of optical and x-ray inspection equipment.
A cursory look at US economic woes suggests an obvious question: Why aren't such companies forsaking the Americas and looking east—to Asia or even Eastern Europe? The answer seems to be that while those regions are important, these companies' executives also see strong reasons to participate in North American markets.
Barbara Duvall, Seica general manager, says her company is targeting moderate-volume medical, military, and similar applications at which North American companies excel. And Seica isn't just looking to make some sales and head for home. President Antonio Grassino cites a significant investment (he asked that the specific number not be published) in infrastructure support for its North American customers. As an example of that investment, the company has just opened its second US office, in Santa Clara, CA (the first is in Methuen, MA). The Santa Clara facility will act as a customer support center and as a base of operations on the West Coast.
Viscom, says North American marketing manager Frank Marangell, "is a global supplier and is not focusing on the North American market at the cost of the other markets. We are the AOI market leader in Europe, and we are very excited about our growth opportunities in Asia." Nevertheless, he says, "The US AOI market is 40 million dollars. This is a significant opportunity for a mid-size company like Viscom," whose sales, he says, were $37 million for 2003.
One reason for participating in the US market may be the cachet it affords: "If a vendor doesn't have systems installed in the US, it's not a player," says Mark Harding, Digitaltest's sales manager for North America. And for many systems ultimately deployed offshore, he adds, "the decision makers are in the US."
To that end, an engineer wishing to maximize job security in the US will want to develop a world-class ability to make the proper decision when choosing among test-equipment options from domestic as well as international vendors—regardless of where that equipment will ultimately be deployed.
Contact Rick Nelson at rnelson@tmworld.com.
