EMSA – a year in the Chair
08 September 2008
Phil Inness is managing director of Axis Electronics and, for the last year, has been chair of Intellect’s EMSA (Electronic Manufacturing Service Association). We asked Phil to take a personal view of his first year in this role.
What a year it has been!
Credit crunch - touching wood and keeping fingers crossed, the EMSA sector seems to have missed the worse, with many EMSA providers predicting near double digit growth for the year coming up. But inflationary pressures are with us, from staff costs through to utility charges and it is a challenge to make sure does not get out of hand. Though getting that extension done should be a bit easier eh!
The first wave of immigrant population has either left or is on the way home, making this people pressure relief valve not as available as it was. The economics have changed very quickly and an improved exchange rate, internal growth and available EU money has made staying at home a more attractive option for potential immigrants to the UK. This puts greater stress on having an effective homegrown workforce and the difficulties that involves with near zero unemployment rates in some areas.
We have also seen evidence of work that was sent offshore coming back to the UK. Increasing costs offshore may have changed the cost model, but my feeling is that if all the costs and risks were factored in at the start, some work probably should not have gone in the first place – but we are all creatures of fashion, are we not! Over the period the leading companies in the EMS sector have also become more competitive, continuously striving to be world class, offering more than a cheap hourly rate (which can easily be wiped out with a bit of excess stock).
And the challenge for EMSA in all of this, well as I see it - to have a vociferous membership representing the EMS industry making sure government recognises the importance of the EMS industry to the UK economy and support us to take on the world at manufacturing. By achieving this, succeeding in other objectives becomes more likely (e.g. better funding for training/skills/apprentices, fiscal incentives for manufacturing, fewer regulatory constraints to name but a few.)
So progress in the first year – not bad but still a long way to go. I am pleased to say that Intellect has stepped up to the mark in addressing what we all see as key challenges. There are no quick fixes but good progress has been made and a clear plan in place for the future.
I have also been greatly impressed by the professionalism of my fellow EMS leaders who meet at the regular meetings. As a group have in place an open forum, which is creative and helping to move the industry forward as a whole.
However, I am disappointed that more companies have not signed up to join the group. As it stands today we typically have about 20% of the UK’s CEM market by turnover round the table at any one point. My plea is to all professionals in the EMS industry, you get out what you put in - so come and get involved and make your voice heard. It is in all our interests to make the voice of EMSA as strong as possible so that government and decision makers actually take on what our industry needs.
The EMS sector plays a key role to the UK economy, from helping start ups make their dream a reality, being key manufacturing partners to the biggest blue chips, to supporting ancient infrastructure projects that would cause the country to collapse if not supported.
So for those of you who are involved in EMSA, many thanks for your valuable contribution and your views are making a difference to the EMS sector and UK plc. For those of you thinking of joining I urge you to take part. There is still so much to do and the target is ever changing.
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