PCB suppliers - EU versus China

PCB from China is the subject of many expert discussions. As distributors and importers of printed circuit boards indicate, the quality of Chinese products is at a very high level. What's more, in their opinion, both Chinese products and technological advancement exceed the possibilities available to Polish and European producers.

Of course, suppliers from the EU dare to disagree with this opinion. They claim  that the quality of printed circuit boards leaves a lot to wish for, and the total costs are much higher than the reported ones. So how is it? Which solutions are better? 

PCB from China

Admittedly, a huge proportion of the tiles are actually successfully made in China. I am talking primarily about the production of tiles for household appliances and the entire consumer market. China, like all Asian countries, is a leader in the production of smartphones. In Europe, no companies even try to produce them, because taking into account only labor costs and burdens resulting from environmental protection, they have no chance to approach the price level from the Far East. An important fact is that only large-scale orders from China make sense. Logistics costs are so high that ordering a few or several dozen tiles is much more expensive and this is pointless.

PCB  from  EU

However, PCB manufacturers from the EU are not worse than the competition from the Far East. What's more, there are several reasons why customers  may prefer to reach for EU manufacturers. Most importantly, because they think they are better and safer. What are we talking here about? One of the most important arguments is the lead time.

Despite the high technology and huge progress in production, Chinese producers are not able to provide such short deadlines as EU producers, and what is more they can’t  guarantee such deadlines as EU producers. Customers who order tiles from the EU can place orders for tiles with a deadline of up to 24 hours and can be sure that the manufacturer will meet this deadline, the tiles will not get stuck or the transport will be delayed, and the products will be delivered on time. This also applies to the problem of restrictions such as the recent epidemic, which cut off EU producers from supplies from China. This has revealed that market dependence on one supply direction is a big problem.

However, this is not all, because Chinese tiles, despite a lower nominal price, in the end are not cheap at all, especially when we take into account the costs associated with the logistics of delivery, as well as the cost of their corrections resulting from the poor quality of some products. It is also important that EU producers provide good service, technical support and flexibility. The same cannot be said for Chinese partners, because usually contact with them is more difficult and time-consuming.

To sum up, contrary to rumors and stereotypical opinions, it can be observed  that the market for EU PCBs has a chance to develop further. What's more, it is in Poland that a significant part of the circuits is produced and this will undoubtedly not change, especially if we talk about those orders that need the express implementation of advanced circuit boards in small and medium series.   It’s because the production of small and medium series in China is very risky and at the same time not profitable.