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After a Strong 2022, Linkage Welcomes You to the New Year...
In 2015, Mehul Dave and I started Linkage Technologies based on a shared vision and business philosophy developed through 30 years working together in the global printed circuit manufacturing industry. In addition to our passion for “business integrity” and “treating others like you want to be treated”, we practice “high-velocity decision-making”. We aim to create a company that acts fast through SUPERIOR SYSTEMS.
If you’ve read my previous columns, Globalization was in trouble even before the pandemic. The decades long open system of trade that dominated the world economy has been damaged by the financial crisis and more recently the Sino- American trade war. Now, COVID-19 is adding a third body blow to Globalization.
When our Linkage China team departed on January 24th for the 2020 Chinese New Year holiday, we had no idea that COVID-19 would become a global pandemic, and how great its impact would be on our entire Linkage supply chain. As the dust settles, it’s time for us review what happened and what we believe lies ahead for our industry.
A few weeks ago, we introduced a set of “core values” to our Linkage team. These are behaviors that we believe will be key to our long-term success as a company. My favorite core value is COURAGE. Companies that have BUSINESS COURAGE will find ways to thrive in the face of unprecedented market instability.
This week we want to first thank all Linkage customers for your patience through this COVID-19 crisis. Delayed quotes, longer than normal lead times and logistical challenges have caused some issues for all of us. But overall, we have weathered the storm and now look forward to a gradual recovery.
Last week, Linkage Technologies published a letter from our Chairman Mehul Dave regarding how we are dealing with COVID-19 business challenges. Based on positive responses from our customers, we have decided to start publishing a bi-weekly newsletter. So, here it starts.
The new year is upon us, so I started thinking about the main challenges our company and customers are facing as we enter 2020: tariffs, and finding alternate sources for PCBs. The cloud of tariffs continues to loom over importing PCBs into the U.S. from China. Although there seems to be détente between the U.S. and China with a Phase One trade agreement, a lot needs to be ironed out before we see any changes to tariffs on PCBs. The fact remains that China isn’t paying these tariffs, but the U.S. is. It’s a tax on the U.S. manufacturer, and will eventually be one on the U.S. consumer.
If you’ve read my previous columns, globalization was in trouble even before the pandemic. The decades-long open system of trade that dominated the world economy has been damaged by the financial crisis and—more recently—the Sino-American trade war. Now, COVID-19 has added a third body blow to globalization.
Think about how the U.S. economy would look if it were fragmented with 50 state fiefdoms, each with their own rules and barriers blocking the free flow of goods and services across state lines. What if Amazon couldn’t open a distribution warehouse in Illinois without onerous tariffs? Imagine California farmers paying tariffs to export avocadoes to Michigan or border patrol and customs agents searching cars going from the republic of Arizona into the sovereign state of New Mexico.
A company’s values shape and drive its culture and are critical in creating trust. After I sold my software business, I had a couple years to think about what I would do when I started another business. I decided it all boiled down to a company’s core values and culture. The rest takes care of itself. When values are lived and demonstrated consistently in the workplace, trust is built. A healthy, trustworthy company culture driven by strong values has staying power.
In my last column, I spoke about the challenges of tariffs and alternate sources for PCBs and the larger divide between the U.S. and China, potentially leading to far broader implications for U.S.-led vs. China-led technologies. The world has changed dramatically since then. We’re thick into the midst of a global COVID-19 outbreak, which I believe has only created a larger divide between the two largest economies: the U.S. and China. It has become apparent that critical supply chains have been broken and, for the most part, each nation has been fending for themselves.
Okay, I’ll admit my age; I clearly remember the ‘70s when Kissinger led the path for Nixon to open up China to the world and eventually paved the way to full-scale globalization. Reagan pronounced, "Tear down this wall,” and in 1990, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Those two events took us into the post-Cold-War era that consumed the world after WWII until the 1990s and since then.
Linkage is excited to announce the acquisition of TTM’s Asia Viasource PCB brokering service. The acquisition completed on February 28, 2019. As some of you may know, our core Linkage...
Linkage is pleased to announce that it has achieved ISO 9001 certification for its quality management system