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| Viewpoint | ||
January 9, 2025
VIEWPOINT 2025: Deon Nungaray, Western Regional Sales Manager, Pillarhouse USA Inc.
Without disclosing intricate details, we do plan to launch new products in 2025. The industry has been gradually shifting with new component density requirements, driven especially by high voltage/current demands. This has been a biproduct of the current green energy revolution. Rest assured, this revolution is a deep-rooted prevailing theme and will not easily be deterred by any special interests or governing bodies here in the U.S. or abroad. Who doesn’t want clean, cheap, and renewable energy? Regardless of political affiliations, I believe we all have common ground in wanting cheap, abundant, clean energy, and that will continue to drive technology. Is your company using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools? Since 2023, AI seems to have become an overused, overhyped narrative in everything! I would say that within our field, we were leaders in the early AI movement, simply due to the nature of our work. For example, our Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) system was, in many ways, an early iteration of AI. We were in this AI dimension well over two decades ago and now everyone thinks that machine learning with answer outputs is absolute cutting-edge. In terms of neuro-networking, AI is not necessarily in our realm, but we will continue to generate algorithms with predictive outputs, which are already part of what we do. We will continue our efforts to make our equipment more intelligent, and programming more seamless to the end user. Have supply chain shortages been resolved, and are you able to hire skilled workers? Due to the commonality of most of our components, we did not experience the supply chain crisis in the same way as others. Therefore, I would say yes, shortages have been resolved. Industry seems to have moved beyond those tricky supply, and indeed oversupply, issues as well. Many companies went too far and ended up with oversupply issues in 2023/2024, but inventory has been absorbed and will continue to in 2025. As for the labor constraints, as mentioned on last year’s Viewpoint, these are deep rooted, and we believe these will continue. Look at mature economies e.g., Japan, South Korea, and Europe to see their slowly inverting population pyramids and low fertility rates. That inversion paints a worrying picture of where we are going in terms of young talented labor availability for established economies. Without some kind of sound and rational immigration reforms, these issues will continue to persist. What is the outlook for your business in 2025? We believe that 2025 is a transitional year for us - we have a new old-stock administration coming in and some uncertainty, to say the least. Most folks are genuinely optimistic about things moving forward but some do remain cautiously optimistic, as they say. On the geo-economic front, there are so many variables that we need to keep our eye on. Staying in close communication with our customers and keeping on top of demand shifts will be especially important. Most everyone thinks that tax cuts and tariffs to outside competition will be to our advantage. We must also consider if any of these factors are already accounted for and whether their effects are muted. Deferring capital equipment expenditures and tax cuts are important, but more important is bringing long-term low cost of ownership and reliable equipment to our partner customers should be the priority. Deon Nungaray, Western Regional Sales Manager Pillarhouse USA Inc. http://www.pillarhouse.co.uk |
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