Organic and printed electronics industry expects an increase of 3 percent in sales revenue in 2019
Despite the current slowing down of the overall economy, the organic and printed electronics industry continues to grow. This is the clear message to result from the latest business climate survey conducted by OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association), a Working Group within VDMA (Mechanical Engineering Industry Association). 80 percent of survey participants expect the industry to continue its positive development in the coming year.
The semi-annual OE-A Business Climate Survey sheds light on the anticipated growth of the Organic and Printed Electronics industry. During each survey, OE-A members – from material suppliers to end-users – are asked to provide qualitative data on the state of the industry and their expected sales development.
With a projected sales revenue of 3 percent, 2019 will be a successful year for OE-A members. However, this forecast is significantly lower than the one made in the spring survey this year. A sales growth of 9 percentage points was forecasted for 2019. For 2020, the companies expect a further increase in turnover of 5 percent. This growth is expected along the entire value chain.
“It is not surprising that the organic and printed electronics industry is also feeling the effects of the uncertainties and the general slowdown in the global economy. But we expect healthy growth for both this and upcoming year," says Klaus Hecker, managing director of OE-A.
“This positive outlook is reflected in other indicators such as investments and development expenses," says Hecker. For example, 81 percent of companies are expanding their investments in production facilities and 75 percent are increasing their development expenditures in the next 6 months.
Thin, lightweight and flexible – these are the well-known characteristics of organic and printed electronics. These features enable applications in numerous areas. OE-A members in particular target the following sectors: consumer electronics, medical and pharmaceutical, automotive and lighting.
“Mobility remains an important topic for the printed electronics industry. Particularly in the automotive and aviation industries, printed electronic components open up a multitude of opportunities and possibilities," adds Hecker. "In 2020, the focus of LOPEC, the leading international exhibition and conference for printed electronics, will also be on Smart Living." This once again underlines the enormous bandwidth of this technology and presents how products and applications of printed electronics will make our everyday lives simpler, smarter and more environmentally friendly in the future. For example in the form of fitness trackers, smart textiles, intelligent pharmaceutical packaging or flexible solar films.
Caption: Expected sales revenue in the OPE industry (source: OE-A)