On behalf of FHI, Dirk Stans, managing partner at Eurocircuits and chairman of the Industrial Electronics branch, visited informateur Mariëtte Hamer. During the meeting, Dirk, together with other industry organizations, emphasized the importance of technology. And especially in the longer term when the business community has to grow out of the corona crisis and face other challenges. Also at European level.
In his speech to the informant, Dirk emphasized the importance of the electronic manufacturing industry, such as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), developers and designers, suppliers of components and machines and services and consultants. A large number are active within FHI or have a direct connection with it.
According to Dirk, these sectors, like the rest of the manufacturing industry, form the foundation of our economy. There is a danger that the European manufacturing industry will be decimated to such an extent that engineers and developers will leave here and others, from Asia or the US, will impose their designs and therefore “way of life” on us.
Dirk also points to a concrete example of how necessary a vital manufacturing industry is for Europe. For example, at the beginning of the corona crisis, Dutch companies managed to quickly develop and effectively produce ventilators so that hospitals could deploy them before the crisis was even 6 months old.
A number of concrete solutions were put forward in the argument, from easily feasible to very ambitious. First of all, according to Dirk, European governments must formulate a clearer long-term economic policy. The production of raw materials and basic components must also partly return to the EU, also known as reshoring.
Other policy priorities must guarantee the realization of a “level playing field” with regard to international trade. How fortunate it is that we strive for high sustainability standards and even impose them on our companies when our global neighbors ignore them. The emphasis in a new cabinet should be on convincing our EU brothers, China, the US and others to support this.
Dirk concludes his argument with the observation that thirty years ago there were approximately thirty companies in the Netherlands that produced PCBs. The Netherlands no longer has such companies. In addition, Dirk states to the members of FHI that every sector has an interest in the above-mentioned issues and the members can also benefit from this in the longer term. All the more reason to keep the lobby going towards politicians in The Hague.
Nederlands