Europe wants European PCBs – the question is who commits first

What happened

An industry commentary (Evertiq, published November 03, 2026) discusses the reshoring of the European PCB industry. Citing repeated reporting by Dieter G. Weiss and Evertiq, it states that Europe today accounts for less than 2% of the global PCB market. Industry veteran Gene H. Weiner tells Vytautas Ilgūnas, CCO of TLT PCB, that Western customers 'say yes, but behave no': Western OEMs talk about resilience and security of supply, but when sourcing decisions are made, price dominates, and manufacturers cannot invest in new Western factories unless customers sign multi-year, volume-secured contracts. Ilgūnas, however, says reshoring in Europe is no longer only a discussion — some major EMS companies and OEMs are already qualifying local suppliers, placing orders and discussing multi-year capacity commitments, led by defence, aerospace, industrial and other high-reliability sectors, though the pace varies considerably by customer. Background facts in the article: in September 2025, the Lithuanian electronics group TLT Manufacturing inaugurated a EUR 320 million expansion in Vilnius comprising four new factories, among them Europe's first new PCB factory in 20 years. Weiner outlines three steps: a single US–EU–UK Electronics Council (which he himself calls 'probably unlikely to happen'), developing and scaling a secure ecosystem with alternatives for all major materials needed for advanced packaging, and a rapid approval method for new materials; he identifies high-end CCLs, ultra-smooth copper foil and laminates using T- or Q-glass as potential choke points. He cites Nvidia, Tesla and other major OEMs making long-term supplier commitments, and privately owned Principal Mineral, which acquired and expanded the last copper foil company in the US and recently acquired Isola, a multi-facility CCL producer. Weiner says a five-year action plan is needed.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Evertiq · 11/3/2026 · View original source