EMS@C-LEVEL

BONUS - What's the SCOOP - 2022 Trends with Mike Konrad

January 04, 2022 Philip Spagnoli Stoten
EMS@C-LEVEL
BONUS - What's the SCOOP - 2022 Trends with Mike Konrad
Show Notes

Here's what Podcaster, Industry Guru and Founder of Aqueous Technologies Mike Konrad sees as the key trends in 2022. In this interview we dig into those predictions a little deeper. 

"Predicting industry trends these days is much like predicting which number will come up at the roulette table (The odds are 1 in 36)! Travel restrictions and mask mandates seem to change more frequently than the weather. I do have some predictions for general trends for 2022. What we have learned is it is far easier to shut down an economy than it is to turn it back on. The world has very little experience with economic shutdowns matching current times. While recessions and regional events may cause economies to slow, I cannot think of an example where so much of the world’s economy was shut down at once. As a result, we have a near historic supply chain disruption. 

While the press refers to this as a “chip shortage”, the shortages go well beyond components. As a manufacturer of equipment for the EMS industry, we have transitioned our purchasing strategies from just in time to just in case. This of course only adds to the supply chain issues. For many companies, bulking up on inventory may cause a strain on cash flow. I believe the supply chain shortages will stay with us for the majority of 2022. While some sectors of the supply chain will see a restoration to normal sooner than others, it only takes one missing part (the weak link) to create delivery delays. We, like many companies, have sourced some alternative parts, occasionally requiring minor modifications to our equipment designs in order to utilize those new parts. Due to the resourcefulness of our team, we have been fortunate (to date) to have avoided delays in shipments. 

While we are beginning to see the return of live industry events, (the SMTA Cleaning and Coating Conference, SMTAi, Productronica, IPC APEX Expo to name a few), participation in these events remains lower than normal due to travel restrictions and basic fear. 

I believe 2022 will see the return of most live events albeit with lower attendance. Fortunately, technical conferences were able to transition to virtual events, providing educational opportunities to many more participants than a traditional live event could offer (and significant savings in travel budgets). All in all, I believe the electronic assembly industry has fared far better than many other industries with many even reporting record revenue and profits. There is an infamous Chinese curse which states “May you live in interesting times”. 

We do indeed live in “interesting” times." This season of What's the SCOOP is sponsored by Koh Young America (https://www.kohyoung.com) the leaders in manufacturing inspection solutions.

Like every episode of EMS@C-Level, this one was sponsored by global inspection leader Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Adaptable Automation Specialist Launchpad.build (https://launchpad.build).

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.