PRO Flextronics sat down for an interview with Ryan Banfield, Global Product Manager, PriElex, at Heraeus Electronics. The company will showcase its polymer thick film portfolio at the upcoming LOPEC 2026 tradeshow.
Mr Banfield, the flexible and printed electronics industry is entering 2026 with cautious optimism, as reflected in the latest OE-A Business Climate Survey. What are the main goals and considerations for Heraeus Electronics this year?
Ryan Banfield: Entering 2026, Heraeus Electronics shares the industry’s cautious optimism, paired with a clear focus on disciplined, application-driven growth. After several years of strong innovation across flexible and printed electronics, this year is about assisting customers in moving from technical possibility to scalable, reliable manufacturing for next-generation applications. Our priorities centre on delivering materials that perform consistently in real production environments – supporting customers as applications transition from pilots into volume production with clear expectations around quality, yield, and long-term reliability.
A key consideration for us in 2026 is ensuring portfolio relevance and strong value-chain collaboration. Through our PriElex polymer thick-film materials, we are concentrating on solutions that address concrete manufacturing challenges, rather than chasing broad experimentation. At the same time, we are deepening engagement with customers, equipment partners, and integrators to align materials, processes, and end-use requirements early in development. Combined with a continued focus on supply reliability and sustainability, this approach allows us to help customers confidently integrate printed electronics into next-generation products.
You will return to LOPEC as exhibitors once again. What are your expectations for the event – and what can visitors experience at your booth?
R. Banfield: At LOPEC, one of our key highlights is the strong material and process compatibility across Heraeus, particularly between Heraeus Electronics and Heraeus Epurio for touchscreen and film applications. By aligning polymer thick-film inks with complementary conductive materials, we’re able to offer customers more integrated, application-ready solutions rather than isolated products. This system-level approach reduces development risk, shortens time to market, and enables more robust designs for printed and flexible electronics.
We’re also showcasing continued progress in high-growth application areas such as flexible heaters and medical devices, where reliability, consistency, and application know-how are just as critical as material performance. Beyond the materials themselves, a major differentiator for us is how we support customers globally – with the technical depth and infrastructure of a large organization, combined with the responsiveness and agility of a small team. Our goal is to act as a true development partner, working closely with customers from early concept through scale-up, helping them solve challenges and bring printed electronics solutions to market with confidence.
Smart Living and Mobility are the focus topics of LOPEC – and applications in these areas are enabled by materials from Heraeus Electronics’ portfolio, such as the PriElex product line. Can you describe the advantages of your products?
R. Banfield: In Smart Living and Mobility applications, the advantage of Heraeus Electronics lies not only in technical advantage from a product perspective, but also in how we support customers holistically. We combine a global technical and manufacturing footprint with highly responsive, locally embedded teams, allowing us to move with the speed and flexibility of a smaller company while offering the reliability and experience of a long-established industry partner. This structure enables close collaboration across regions, faster development cycles, and consistent support from early design through industrialisation.
Equally important is our deep understanding of the end applications our customers are developing for. In polymer thick film technologies, performance is defined not just by the ink itself, but by how it interacts with substrates, printing processes, downstream assembly, and real-world operating conditions. Whether it’s self-regulating printed heating elements for smart home comfort systems, functional interfaces in appliances, or flexible sensors used in mobility and interior applications, we work closely with customers to optimise material selection and design for the full system – not just the printed layer. This application-driven approach, backed by a proven track record in printed electronics allows us to act as a true development partner, helping OEMs create robust, scalable products that meet both technical and commercial requirements.
One area that is gaining in importance, also at events like LOPEC, is stretchable and thermoformable solutions. How far are we in the development of these products – and what role does your company play here?
R. Banfield: Stretchable and thermoformable electronics are clearly moving from niche concepts toward meaningful, high-growth application spaces, and Heraeus Electronics sees this as one of the most important development areas within printed electronics. Applications in Smart Living, wearables, interior surfaces, and mobility are driving demand for electronics that can conform to complex geometries, withstand mechanical deformation, and still deliver reliable electrical performance. While these technologies are still progressing along the commercialisation curve, the pace of innovation and customer engagement signals that stretchable and thermoformable solutions will play a significant role in next-generation product designs.
Our role in this evolution is to work closely and on an individual basis with customers to bridge the gap between material capability and real-world manufacturing. In the absence of fully established standards – for example, what defines “stretchable enough” or where thermoformability begins and ends – application success depends heavily on process integration. We collaborate one-on-one with customers to ensure our broader polymer thick-film portfolio works seamlessly with their specific substrates, printing methods, forming processes, and end-use requirements. This close development partnership allows us to continuously refine and iterate materials alongside our customers, enabling both sides to evolve quickly as these applications move toward broader commercialisation.
Can you share some insights into your current R&D efforts? How can customers profit from your capabilities?
R. Banfield: At Heraeus Electronics, our R&D efforts are firmly anchored at the intersection of long-term vision and near-term application needs. We are actively developing next-generation polymer thick-film materials that address where printed and flexible electronics are headed – often years before those applications reach full commercialisation. While we can’t share specific details, our work spans emerging requirements such as advanced formability, mechanical durability, system integration, and compatibility with evolving manufacturing processes. Importantly, our innovation roadmap is shaped through continuous dialogue with customers and industry partners, giving us early insight into market trends, application challenges, and the performance expectations OEMs are hearing from their own customers.
Customers profit from these capabilities not only through access to advanced materials, but through how we bring them to market. We collaborate closely with partners across Smart Living, Mobility, medical, and thermal applications to co-develop solutions that function reliably in real production environments. By combining a global R&D and support network with highly responsive local teams, we deliver the technical depth and reliability of a global organization with the agility of a small company. This application-driven, partnership-based model reduces development risk, accelerates time to market, and enables customers to confidently capture emerging opportunities – supported by a long-term partner, not just a material supplier.
Looking beyond LOPEC where will PriElex appear next in 2026?
R. Banfield: Following LOPEC, the remainder of 2026 is about turning collaboration and innovation into tangible progress for the printed electronics industry. We are preparing to introduce new materials targeted at both medical and consumer applications, reflecting continued demand for reliable, application-ready polymer thick-film solutions as printed electronics move into more widespread adoption in everyday products. In parallel, we remain focused on advancing our development pipeline alongside customers, ensuring that new materials align not only with performance requirements, but with real manufacturing and qualification needs.
Equally important is how we engage with the industry. This year we are expanding hands-on customer workshops in the U.S. in late April and in China in late September, creating opportunities for direct collaboration, process learning, and application-level problem solving using PriElex materials. We will also continue active participation in key industry events, including TechBlick in both California and Berlin, where meaningful technical dialogue and cross-value-chain collaboration continue to drive the industry forward. Altogether, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of focused growth – strengthening partnerships, accelerating adoption, and reinforcing PriElex as a proven solution for printed and flexible hybrid electronics.