2009/2010 - The Industry Review and Preview - Steve Carr, ACAL Technology

Top industry executives set aside their holiday shopping when the Disti Blog questions landed on their desks so we can all learn about their views on just how bad it was in 2009 and whether there are any portents for fairer climes in 2010. I'll keep these on top of the posts right through the holiday until the New Year so you can dip in and out if you don't fancy reading them all in one go.

Steve Carr, Managing Director, ACAL Technology

 

 

 

 

Review 2009 for us. As awful as it looked or not as bad as painted?

2009 was not as bad as it originally looked. Activity and project levels held up. Design-in distribution appears to have been more robust than broadline commodity activities.

How do you view prospects for 2010? Do you foresee any hurdles to the potential growth next year e.g. a double dip recession, lengthening lead times

We do not anticipate a double dip. Slow steady single percentage growth. Higher risk of bad debt as companies need to invest in material and resource as growth commences. Survey of 400 contacts from 300 suppliers indicated 75% of respondents already suffering from extending lead-times. 38% of respondents are experiencing some allocation in their product portfolio. Over the next 6 months 43% expect lead-times to increase by a further 8 weeks.


What would make life easier in 2010?

Lots of orders!!!  ACAL Acal retains a strong financial standing however lending availability will allow small and medium manufacturing to increase and develop through 2010.   We have spent a lot of time over the last 3 years engaging with customers in local governments and building relationships telecom carriers to enable the upcoming deployment of M2M applications.  These are a new set of contacts who we have coached through the design of new applications who needed our expertise in the integration of new designs from specifying components and modules, adding software, through to carrier approvals.  Many of these designs are now in beta testing and will enter the market during 2010 bringing new revenue streams for ACAL.

What will make 2010 for your company?

The acquisition of BFI OPTiLAS will strengthen ACAL's position as the largest specialist distributor in Europe.  Perhaps the most significant revenue driver for customers will be the proliferation of smart services delivered via wire-line or wireless infrastructures. Connectivity will be the key that opens new markets, new services and new revenue streams. Key areas for growth will be the healthcare, industrial, intelligent buildings and M2M infrastructure. Transportation is already benefitting from new investment and increased connectivity, such as WiFi, video monitoring and security, will be driven by projects such as the Olympics