The history and future of China Shenzhen PCB manufacturing industry (Part 4)
The inspiration of completed PCB manufacturing industry chain
In the recent years, China faces many challenges, especially in labor shortages, rising Labour costs, the tougher environmental protection laws , rising raw material costs, customer demand and so on.But despite these challenges, the Chinese mainland is still the best PCB production and investment areas in the next 10 years, and will continue to lead the development of the global PCB. One of the most outstanding reasons is that the Chinese mainland has perfect infrastructure and industrial chain that India, Brazil and other countries can’t compare with .
There is a true story: one day one of PCB indusry person went to Hong Kong, and encountered a Hong Kong taxi driver.He did not think that the taxi driver was one of the earliest pioneers in China electronic industry, and now they don’t catch up with the rapid upgrading of electronic products, with the new generation of mainland electronics factories rising sharply and the global financial crisis in 2008, his factory in shenzhen was forced to shut down, so he was back to Hong Kong as the taxi driver.
“We went to shenzhen to set up electronics factory in the early 1980s.”He said, “at that time business was pretty good. We produced a tape recorder, and sold to mainland China and the world. Later, we produced digital radio, calculator, electronic clock, and sales were also good.” Next, they also produced a game consoles, MP3 / MP4, automotive electronic products, etc.”However, the business is more difficult years than years. The global financial crisis in 2008, due to our foreign trade, so the factory just was closed. I returned to Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government did not have any subsidies, so I drive a taxi right now.”He complained. “what we have produced, are integrated into the mobile phone, and we have no way out.”
His story is very representative, on behalf of the history of the many people in Hong Kong electronic industry. From movers and shakers in Guangdong electronics market in the early eighties to competition with Taiwan companies in ninety ,then from forced into the corner by the mainland competitors to completely evacuating the mainland market in 2010, and he returned to Hongkong as a taxi driver.Why this tragedy happen? As what he said, are all the fault caused by the mobile phones? Not at all. Now the Chinese market manufacturers of digital , console and vehicle still live quite well, and their constant innovation attracts the user’s products;Like what he stated, no one use domestic mobile phone instead of using foreign brands? so he lost his job?This is wrong.There were at least 300 million units of Gray cell phone in China in 2009, shan, and more than 60% were exported to overseas markets. So, the story of his failure, on the one hand is due to their wrong idea: failed to keep pace with rapid chang of electronic products demand, also do not take the common roots users’ needs. On the other hand,it was beaten by the rapid rise of local copycat over the past few years.These local copycat makers form complete and quick response supply chain, while Hong Kong electronics makers appear relatively lonely. So, in the high-end market,they can not caompare with Japan and South Korea, however, in the low-end market they are beaten by copycat, so they have to exit. However, Taiwan manufacturers are different. Relying on the mature industrial chain,Taiwan manufacturers are still in the mainland market.So, another important reason of Hong Kong electronics makers’ tragedy is that Hong Kong does not have mature and perfect electronic industry chain to support them, so, this is fate.
conclusion
Shenzhen as a special zone has experienced 30 years of rapid development, and has successfully completed their initial expected historical mission.In the transition process from plan to market, shenzhen walked out of the first step of economic development, which created the miracle of historic.
After thirty years of continuous growth, China PCB industry has gone through a rough stage of wild growth. The moon waxes only to wane; water brims only to overflow.Through the peak industry,it is inevitably turned to a new round of cycle.Shenzhen PCB enterprises are mostly from small to large, and meet with a good age.The aggregation and prosperity of electronic manufacturing industry in the pearl river delta , provides fast growing conditions to PCB manufacturers. As long as the business is up, they mostly get rapid development.
Most of them started from simple facilities, and even the old equipment, and continuously expanded. They become the hundreds of thousands of enterprises from dozens of small workshops.From the old equipment to the advanced automatic production line, from a single printed circuit board to the carbon ink, penetration, high-frequency multilayer board, rigid flex pcb. production capability from a few hundred square meters to tens of thousands of square meters.But with the advent of the era of high cost and small profit, enterprises traditionally relying on a cheap labor and low price to get profit will face elimination. They will be replaced by technology enterprises, who rely on improving the technological content of products, market competitiveness and profit margins to win the market;And transfer to innovative enterprise from the processing enterprises.
Ten years of China’s accession to wto, China’s manufacturing industry with the starting point of labor cost advantage , has basically achieved the first stage goal from labor power country to manufacturing country, and with the the second stage goal of tansferring to strong manufacturing country, which is speeding. Enter the second decade of the 21st century, great changes have taken place in China’s economic and social background.Therefore, in order to realize the shift towards manufacturing powerhouse as soon as possible, starting from the present stage of China’s specific national conditions, the optimal path must be selected , and made the feasible development strategy of manufacturing in China.
“Long way to go” is a vivid description of the development pattern of the current China PCB manufacturing industry and enterprises. There is long way to go for innovation and upgrading,so does becoming bigger and stronger. However, we believe that in the fully market-oriented PCB industry, China manufactureres have the invovation to turn the crisis into an opportunity ,but for Shenzhen PCB manufacturers, after thought pains and change, they will usher the phoenix nirvana and get a new life.