【PCB Information Network】 The owners of PCB factories may appear glamorous on the surface, but the hardships and struggles behind starting a business are enough to bring tears…
1. “Betting Everything” on Equipment
The PCB manufacturing process is complex and intricate. To start a PCB factory, one must purchase a range of equipment including exposure machines, etching machines, AOI inspection machines, punching machines, laminators, drilling machines, copper plating lines, green oil grinding lines, and surface treatment equipment. Even for a small factory, the investment in equipment can easily exceed a million.
If you want to buy higher precision equipment, it is normal for a single machine to cost over a million, or even several million to tens of millions.
Clearly, one could live a carefree life with money, yet they choose to “bet everything” on a pile of equipment to produce high-quality boards.
2. Exhausted from Securing Orders
The factory is up and running, but its development hinges on whether there are orders.
If one does not have the perseverance to continue, it is common to go hungry after a meal.
Especially in a poor economic environment, market competition is fierce. To secure orders, many small and medium-sized PCB factory owners work hard during the day and drink heavily at night to negotiate orders.
For the sake of orders, they are utterly exhausted!
3. Hands-On Management
The owners of PCB factories, often referred to as Mr. Zhang, Mr. Li, or Mr. Wang… are actually jack-of-all-trades, familiar with processes, knowledgeable in technology, capable of negotiating contracts, delivering goods, and socializing… They bear the burden of selling high-value products while earning low-margin profits.
To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. If you cannot hold on, do not expect others to support you. Little do you know, those companies that grow and thrive hide countless unseen efforts behind them.
A truth during the startup phase: Get to work quickly!
4. Spending Like Water, Earning is Harder than Reaching the Sky
In PCB manufacturing, buying materials and equipment leads to immediate expenses, while cash flows out just as quickly; however, when it comes to collecting payments from clients, one may face various debts and deductions, making it incredibly difficult to earn money.
Meanwhile, various costs such as rent, utilities, equipment payments, material costs, maintenance fees, labor costs, and operational expenses cannot be overlooked.
All costs are high, it’s unbearable!
Conclusion
How many nights do the newly established PCB factory owners spend in deep thought? How many times do they stay awake all night to ensure their employees receive their salaries on time? How many times do they silently bear the responsibility when employees make mistakes… Yet how many people understand them? Employees think you are selfish, family members complain you are indifferent, and many harbor misunderstandings and grievances against you.
No one understands your helplessness, no one feels your loneliness!
But the path is chosen by oneself, and one must walk it even if on their knees.
Do not complain, do not be discouraged, grit your teeth, hold your head high, and keep going!
Believe that with enough effort and perseverance, thorns will turn into flowers, and hardships will become smooth paths.
We also call on the employees of PCB factories, since you are engaged in this profession, walk through the storms with your boss, and work together!
The industry has a promising future, the market is vast, let us work together to make the factory prosperous, and togetherenjoy the fruits of our labor, have money to spend, and achieve success in both career and life, wouldn’t that be wonderful!
