Despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, companies in the flexible and printed electronics industry remain cautiously optimistic about future developments. The latest OE-A Business Climate Survey confirms expected sales growth of 7 percent for 2026. For 2027, the companies surveyed also expect average sales growth of 7 percent.
The biannual survey is conducted by the OE-A, the international working group for flexible and printed electronics within VDMA. It gathers insights from OE-A members across the entire value chain, from R&D institutes and material suppliers to manufacturers and end users. The survey provides qualitative assessments of sales, order intake, investment and employment.
“The latest figures show that companies remain cautiously optimistic despite the challenging environment. It is particularly encouraging to see that order intake has improved significantly compared with the beginning of the year, while the sales forecast for 2026 has been confirmed at plus seven percent,” says Dr Klaus Hecker, Managing Director of the OE-A. More than half of the respondents, 54 percent, expect the industry to grow in 2026. A further 40 percent expect business to remain stable. At the same time, order intake has recovered: after minus 15 percent in the January survey, the current forecast stands at plus 2 percent. The recent survey confirms the sales forecast for 2026 from January. For 2027, however, growth expectations of plus 7 percent are lower than at the beginning of the year, when companies forecast growth of plus 10 percent.
Companies focus on stability
Investment and employment are currently developing much more cautiously than at the beginning of the year. 89 percent of companies plan to keep their investments in production at the current level over the next six months, while 10 percent intend to increase them. In terms of employment, 92 percent plan to maintain their current workforce, while 6 percent intend to increase staff. Research and development activities, by contrast, remain at a high level: 89 percent of companies plan to expand their R&D activities, while a further 10 percent intend to maintain them at their current level. The most important target industries currently include Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Medical & Pharmaceutical, and Energy.
Moving forward through innovation
While the economic and geopolitical environment continues to create uncertainty, the results also provide positive signals: sales expectations remain stable, order intake has recovered, and companies continue to maintain a strong focus on research and development. “The fact that 89 percent of companies plan to further expand their research and development activities is a strong signal. Our industry is looking ahead and continuing to work on new products and applications,” says Dr Klaus Hecker. “At electronica and LOPEC 2027, this innovative strength will be visible in very tangible ways. These are exactly the kinds of innovations we need to open up new applications and markets and strengthen the industry’s long-term competitiveness.”