Electronics is the largest manufacturing industry in the world that employs and average of around 2.6 million Americans (a consistent value progressively increasing every year). The worldwide market for electronic goods is over $800 billion. But the United States of America alone have approximately a quarter share of this at $200 billion. The United States as can be seen from above as having a high turn over and import of electronics goods. The mighty state of California is ranked as the world’s sixth largest economy in total of all goods, trades and services conducted within and surrounding the state.
California is very well known for its ‘environmentally friendly’ attitudes towards the disposal (correct disposal) of many electronics goods produced. In 2008 there was a proposed legislation that was soon after enforced which would require consumer electronics that were sold within the state of California to ensure the items are manufactured without any toxins or hazardous material, both to the consumers and the environment.This proposed legislation arose from a study conducted in 2004 whereby dangerous chemicals and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, and brominated flame-retardants, were commonly used in mobile phones, music players, computers and computers monitors. These metals and chemicals do not commonly cause direct harm to consumer but rather when disposed of in landfills they are leached into the groundwater supply that in turn can directly impact the population.
Since it can be quite impractical, and almost impossible to omit these heavy metals and various chemicals to many electronic components (i.e. solder –lead- to semiconductor boards used in all electronic devices) there have been specialised recycling programs put in place, implemented to help reduce and eventually eliminate this dangerous cross contamination that can potentially effect all citizens of California, not to mention the rest of the world (due to exports and each nations choice of disposal). These recycling programs include returning items such as computers, laptops and mobile phones to the store/company it was purchased from to which they will recycle these items for free. Apple is a known participant of this program as you can drop your old iPhone into any store to which they will take on the recycling responsibilities from then on.
This ‘recycling’ initiative has many other benefits other then just protecting the environment as it also allows manufacturers to continue with their processes of production (by strict safety guidelines OHS as always) and without investing large sums of money in order to restructure and recreate new techniques of production whist also holding onto the major US and European markets.
During the 1990s, the high-technology sector accounted for about one half of the manufacturing value added in California and over a quarter of the employment of production workers. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s in a 40 year time period (1940) that the state of California began to specialize in knowledge-intensive activities, as high-technology industries grew more rapidly in the state alone, beating the rapid growth of the entire nation put together. By the end of this ‘rapid expansion and growth’ time period, the high-technology sector accounted for 21 percent of output and 14 percent of production workers in California.
The second rapid high-technology expansion occurred just after the first boom between 1939 and 1967. Expansion was disproportionately vigorous in the state, driven initially by the growth of its aircraft industry and later by electronics. There was soon a decline in the production worker sector as due to the uprising of the electronics industry, as machines soon took over the ‘hardwiring work’ of the employees of major production companies. Electronics manufacturers were soon looking to gain more efficiency in production and effectiveness in the market with new high technological advances.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, after a mild decline the electronics sector soon bounced back due to the growth and development of the semiconductor and computer equipment industries. California’s electronics industry has continued to increase with newer technologies to the semiconductor, circuit, electronic device and systems industries alongside the rest of the world’s growth and development in these fields.
With such a diverse and broad spectrum of the electronics manufacturing industry, the state of California is an ideal Synergy partner for the PCB Global online Printed Circuit Board sales as PCB Global also participates in active environmentally friendly initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint on the Australian environment as well as the rest of the world.
PCB Global encourages and prefers to supply ROHS compliant, lead-free technology surface finishes such as immersion gold (ENIG), immersion silver, immersion tin, lead-free hot air leveling (ROHS HAL) and OSP Organic finish. In the case where electronic devices are not disposed of correctly, rather disposed of in landfills with other waste items, these lead-free surface finishes assist in the reduction of lead contamination into our soils and water streaming systems containing precious bio-life, important in maintaining a balance in all of our ecosystems worldwide.
With over 35 years’ experience in the Australian Printed Circuit Board industry, PCB Global is the trusted name for PCB export sales to California in the USA.
Whether you are a large OEM or small Electronics Design Engineering company, with today’s constant demanding deadline pressures, economically and environmentally in Research and Development projects for Printed Circuit Boards, PCB Global is your ideal partner for rapid quote, ordering and delivery options for your PCB requirements. Our advantage over our competitors are that we provide instantaneous quotes through our online experience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year eliminating time wasted in waiting for a reply to your request for quotation, reducing the impact of wasted resources during this short time period.
By enabling our business to run strictly as an online experience, we are hence reducing our impact on the environment through the reduction in paper printing and use and as stated in our email contact base with our valued customers to please consider the environment before printing our emails.
PCB Global offer three delivery options; Standard, Fast and Express for 2 Layer to 20 Layer Printed Circuit Boards. Not only will PCB Global offer an extremely competitive quote, you will receive a quotation simultaneously all three delivery options which no competitor to date can offer. Simply select one of the three delivery options (Standard - Fast - Express) and proceed with the best option for your requirement.
As well as the instant on-line Prototype service PCB Global also offer the full spectrum service of Printed Circuit Board manufacturing which encompasses all the variables of specialty laminate materials as well as technologies and surfaces finishes. If your Printed Circuit Board design file has requirements that are not listed on the attributes within the on-line quotation matrix, simply email us your PCB file for our rapid full service quotation.
Put PCB Global to the test California! Go to www.pcbglobal.com and visit our online quotation page and type in your Printed Circuit Board details and see for yourself!
