Whilst each customer is different, there’s one thing they all have in common. No one PCB customer layout request is exactly the same as the next. And no one customer’s requirements are the same as another’s. Every customer’s needs are different. One thing is for certain though – no one wants to be told they have to wait an age for urgent PCBs.
And with electronic grade copper foil, with the purity of 99.7%, being key to printed circuit board fabrication, a global shortage of copper foil would most definitely severely inconvenience many of our clients. Delays in supply could interrupt our clients’ supply chain and result in lost business.
Our close supplier relationships help us to identify exactly these kinds of issues before they begin to affect ourselves and our clients. It was one of these close supplier relationships that alerted us early on to the likelihood of a global supply issue for copper foil.
In recent years, the demand on copper foil manufacturers has risen for our PCB Customer. Copper foil has become more widely used as the negative electrode collector of lithium-ion batteries in products such as notebooks and PCs, mobile phones and even hybrid-electro vehicles.
Mobile phones, laptops and PC sales are increasing, and as the automotive industry seeks to produce greener vehicles, the demand for lithium batteries is growing. The lithium battery market is expected to rise from US$29.68 bn in 2015 to US$77.42 bn in 2024. With this growth in lithium-ion batteries, comes a higher demand for copper foil, across the world.
Our close relationship with one of our copper foil suppliers made us aware of this issue, enabling us to stockpile copper foil to cushion ourselves and protect our clients from the knock-on effects of this global shortage, such as extended lead times and break in supply.