Printed electronics gets tailwind into 2023

Businesses operating within the flexible and printed electronics industry are anticipating sales revenue increases of 18% in 2023, according to the results of the recent 2023 OE-A Business Climate Survey. The results also demonstrated expectations of continued growth, consistent with projections made in the 2022 survey. The outlook for 2024 is promising as well, with an estimated growth of 19%.

“The consistently optimistic results year-on-year in the face of current global uncertainties reflect an underlying confidence in the technologies and applications before us,” summarizes Stan Farnsworth, chair of the OE-A board and chief marketing officer of PulseForge.

Source: OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association)

The results of the OE-A Business Climate Survey were presented in a special session for the international press at LOPEC 2023 in Munich, Germany. The semi-annual survey is conducted by OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association), an international Working Group within VDMA.

For each survey, every OE-A member organization from throughout the supply-chain, from R&D to material suppliers to end users, are asked to provide qualitative data on the state of the industry, expected sales development and markets. The results are on a high level with 76% of the survey participants expecting the industry to continue its positive development in 2023. Leading industries for printed electronics applications are identified by the survey responses as being consumer electronics, automotive, medical & pharmaceutical and building & architecture.

18% sales growth forecast for 2023

Despite the good results, the industry battles the impact of the global crisis. Seventy-three percent of the survey respondents note negative effects like supply chain disruptions or price increases.

“The flexible and printed electronics industry members anticipate negative impact due to higher energy cost, inflation, and difficulties in procurement of electronics components,” explains Farnsworth. “Near-term improvements are not expected.”

Conversely, the ‘back to normal’ business recovery period is now thought to be shorter than predicted in the past surveys. More than half of the participants (57%) expect a recovery within the next 12 months. Additionally, member companies are reporting an increasing recovery of customer demand, especially in USA and Europe, compared to October 2022. Of those surveyed, 70% say they will increase investment in production, and more than two thirds will strengthen their R&D activities in the upcoming half year. Furthermore, the employment situation is encouraging with 55% of the companies planning to increase staff.