Due to the corona virus, the situation remains critical regarding the supply of alcohol-based fluxes to the electronics industry. Rising demand and a massive shortage of alcohol on the market have led to a steady rise in prices and a shortage of fluxes. The number of electronics service providers switching to water-based fluxes of the Green Line series is therefore increasing.
The products of the Green Line series contain fluxes for wave and selective soldering. All water-based fluxes can be used on the production systems known on the market. The soldering results correspond to those achieved with alcohol-based fluxes. A change to ecological, alcohol-independent, water-based fluxes is therefore possible without further effort, since the supply situation regarding alcohol-based fluxes is still very serious. “Since there is virtually no artificial alcohol on the market anymore, production volumes are becoming smaller and smaller as demand increases. We expect this development to continue in the coming weeks”, says Markus Geßner, Marketing and Sales Manager of Emil Otto GmbH.
Sometimes unusual situations happen during the telephone conversation, when buyers want to stock up on quantities that are no longer available in Emil Otto’s warehouse. “A supply is simply not possible, as the majority of alcohol-based fluxes have been sold in the past few days and a new production is only possible with a massive price increase, because the prices we are now paying for alcohol in purchasing are extremely high”, says Geßner.
Geßner therefore advises his customers to switch to Green Line fluxes. The first electronics manufacturers are taking this step and are being actively supported by Geßner and his team in converting the soldering process. Often companies had planned a change to water-based fluxes but had not yet realized it. In the current situation the step seems to be final for some contract manufacturers. “We are registering an increased willingness to change and are well prepared for this. The demand for Green Line products is increasing. With water-based fluxes we have no bottlenecks whatsoever and can also produce subsequently at any time”, explains Geßner.
