OTHER ELECTRONICS
UPDATE
August 2007
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Molex Starts Production in New Facility with Cleanrooms
Foxconn Triggering Investment in Qinghuangdao
Nokia Siemens Expands China R&D Center
Hon Hai & HP to Set up JV Plants in Russia
Foxconn to Invest Over $50 Million in St. Petersburg Electronics Plant
Park Electrochemical Corp. Announces Site for New Facility
UPCB Breaks Ground for Solar Cell Factory
Dongguan Somacis Graphic Announces Manufacture of First PCB
NASA’s Science Building Breaks Eco-friendly Ground
New R&D Labs Promise Jobs in Korea
Molex Starts Production in New Facility with Cleanrooms
Molex Incorporated, Lisle, IL, has begun production at its new facility in St. Paul, MN. From high speed signals to power requirements, Molex Copper Flex assemblies provide solutions for a wide array of packaging problems, including situations where high signal speed, low loss and real estate are essential.
Molex relocated to the new facility from the former Century Circuits operation Molex acquired in 2006. The new, expanded facility offers improved manufacturing process flow and provides more than double the production capacity for Copper Flex Products. The company has also made significant investments in new equipment to ensure that the facility is both more efficient and capable of producing expanded product technologies for the future.
The new facility features improved temperature and humidity
controls that provide the capability to produce multi-layer flex products with
more than 20 layers, which is more than a 10 percent increase in circuit
density. Molex can now also prototype and manufacture rigid flex assemblies
entirely under one roof.
The location also employs new lean manufacturing processes that support
progressive manufacturing techniques that will improve plant efficiency and
overall product quality. The implementation of Class 10,000 clean room
capabilities will also allow for future product directions for fine line flex
products.
Foxconn Triggering Investment in Qinghuangdao
Hefty investment by Foxconn Group, the Chinese affiliate of Hon Hai Precision Group, has sparked an investment craze in the coastal city of Hebei Province, as many of the group's supporting factories are following its step to set up operations there.
A local Taiwanese businessman revealed that a delegation of representatives of 160 Foxconn supporting factories visited Qinghuangdao in early August, studying the city's investment environment.
Foxconn will invest US$1 billion over the next three years in the Foxconn Hi-Tech Park, spanning three square kilometers in space, situated in the western area of Qinghuangdao Economic and Technology Development Zone (QETDZ). In addition, according to its agreement with Qinghuangdao city government, Foxconn will set up a branch nano-tech R&D centerand a PCB (printed circuit board) R&D center in Beidaihe, a famous coastal resort near Qinghuangdao.
Liu Hung-zhu, director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of QETDZ, pointed out that the Hebei provincial government will give the most preferential conditions to the Foxconn project, the largest sci-tech project in the province, which will create 35,000 job vacancies.
The investment project will further boost Foxconn's prominent presence in the Chinese market. At of the end of July this year, Foxconn boasted employment of 530,000. For the fifth year running, it was the largest exporter in China in 2006, with its exports accounting for one twenty-seventh of the nation's total overseas sale. Its Shenzhen factory alone accounted for 30% of the city's total exports.
Nokia Siemens Expands China R&D Center
Nokia Siemens Networks announced it will significantly increase its Chengdu R&D capabilities by the end of 2008, aiming to make it one of the biggest R&D centers of the company worldwide.
The expanded facility will be a key global development center for applications development and also meet the needs of business customers and local partners in the telecommunications industry across China. The expansion will include more R&D for network operation-related systems, underlining the company's commitment to improve network performance for its customers.
The move is part of Nokia Siemens' strategy to capture business opportunities and market share in emerging markets as demand rises for fixed and mobile infrastructure products, services and solutions. Nokia Siemens is focusing on China and other emerging markets, which are the key drivers of future growth that will push the connected community to five billion people globally by 2015.
The Chengdu R&D Center was established in August 2005 to play a major role in 3G and IP-based multimedia systems development.
Hon Hai & HP to Set up JV Plants in Russia
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) will jointly invest US$50 million to open factories in Saint Petersburg of Russia to assemble HP`s personal computers and liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitors for the emerging market.
The factories will cover a land area of 12-15-hectares and are scheduled to begin volume productions after 12 months from now. Total area of factory buildings is estimated at 60,000 square meters.
Hon Hai`s spokesman, C.A. Ding, recently confirmed media reports on the investment plan. Hon Hai is currently the world`s biggest contract electronics manufacturer with revenues for this year projected at NT$1.2 trillion (US$36 billion at US$1:NT$33). HP has dethroned Dell as the world`s No.1 PC maker for four consecutive quarters.
Taiwanese industry watchers pointed out the investment plan suggests the two IT giants are elevating their relationship to long-term strategic partnership from the seller-buyer tie. Closer relationship has fueled speculations that HP`s ties with other Taiwanese contract suppliers would loosen.
Industry watcher analyzed that the Russia investment shows the thriving BRIC economies-Brazil, Russia, India and China-are catching attention of the world`s IT manufacturers. The four economies had average growth of 8.3% last year and are now the world`s most promising PC market.
So far, Hon Hai has opened or will open facilities in emerging economies including mainland China, Mexico, India, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe. In mainland China alone, it has over 18 manufacturing locations with over 300,000 workers.
For big-name suppliers like HP, increasing outsourcing orders to pure manufacturers has become their cost-efficiency strategy now. For instance, Compaq sold its factory in Czech Republic to Hon Hai in 2002 and HP sold many of its European factories to Hon Hai. Two years ago, HP rented its factories in India and Australia to the world`s No.1 contract electronics manufacturer.
HP plans to buy NT$800 billion (US$24 billion) of products from its Taiwanese contract suppliers by the end of this year. HP projects to ship over 25 million desktop computers throughout this year, implying a business opportunity of NT$500 billion (US$15 billion) to Taiwanese contract suppliers this year.
Foxconn to Invest Over $50 Million in St. Petersburg Electronics Plant
Foxconn Electronics, the world's largest provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS), based in Taiwan, is planning to invest at least $50 million in the construction of a plant near St. Petersburg.
Foxconn will initially partner with U.S. electronics giant Hewlett-Packard to manufacture several HP product lines, including personal computers, LCD-monitors, and network gear to be sold in Russia and worldwide.
The Taiwanese company earlier said the construction site would total 60,000 square meters (645,600 sq. ft.) and would be located in the suburbs of Russia's second-largest city, which has a developed transportation network. The project investments may exceed $50 million. The company needs an area of 12 to 15 hectares located not far from the residential area and with developed transport infrastructure. Under the optimistic scenario, the construction could be launched this fall and completed in a year.
Foxconn, founded in 1973, manufactures IT-products for global electronics giants, such as Apple, Dell, Nokia, Motorola, and Sony. It posted sales revenues of about $40 billion in 2006 and plans to increase sales to $55 billion in 2007.
Park Electrochemical Corp. Announces Site for New Facility
Park Electrochemical Corp. announced that it has selected the Newton City-County Airport in Newton, Kansas as the site for its new Advanced Composite Materials development and manufacturing facility for aircraft structures. The facility, which the Company plans to complete by the end of the Company's next fiscal year, will be approximately 50,000 square feet, and will contain manufacturing, laboratory and office space. The Company plans to spend approximately $15 million on the facility and equipment. Newton, Kansas, is located approximately 20 miles north of Wichita, Kansas and is approximately a 20 minute drive from central Wichita. Wichita, Kansas is home to a number of major General Aviation aircraft manufacturers, and the Company is situating its new facility in the greater Wichita area in order to be in the position to work closely with, and to more effectively support, the Wichita aircraft manufacturing community.
UPCB Breaks Ground for Solar Cell Factory
Unitech Printed Circuit Board Corp. (UPCB) recently broke ground on the site of its first solar-cell factory located in Yilan County, eastern Taiwan.
The company's chairman, P.J. Chang, said his company will funnel NT$1 billion (US$30 million at US$1:NT$33) into the investment in the initial stage. Its first production line will start pilot production in May 2008. The factory stands on a 16,000-ping (576,000-square feet) land. It will undergo three stages of expansion, to be equipped with a production line for 30 kilowatts of cells a year in the first stage. Chang said the factory will install second and third lines if everything goes smoothly.
The first production line is projected to inject NT$3 billion (US$90 million) into the UPCB's revenue a year, an amount equal to one third of the company's revenue of NT$10 billion (US$303 million) for last year.
UPCB projects to boost the solar-cell factory's output to 300 megawatts one year after its third-stage expansion starts volume production.
UPCB procured solar-cell manufacturing equipment from German supplier Cenrotherm. The company plans to buy technology and manufacturing equipment from the German supplier for the factory's second-stage and third-stage.
Industry watchers pointed out that global revenue of the solar-energy industry was US$4.5 billion in 2005 and is estimated to hit US$82 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) reaching 20%. They noted that the demand in the United States and some emerging markets has grown considerably. For a long time, Germany and Japan have been the major markets.
UPCB is one of Taiwan's leading printed circuit board (PCB) suppliers, whose earnings were NT$1 billion (US$30 million) in the first seven months this year.
Taiwanese industry watchers pointed out PCB makers tend to enter solar-cell turf because PCB manufacturing shares many common processes with solar-cell manufacturing. In addition, shrunk profits in handset PCB manufacturing are another momentum driving PCB makers to locate profitable business like solar cells.
Currently, all international mobile-phone heavyweights but Nokia are UPCB's customers, making it the most steady maker of the top four Taiwanese handset-PCB makers in terms of sales. The other three are COMPEQ Manufacturing Corp., WUS Printed Circuit Co., Ltd. and Unimicron Technology Corp.
While diversifying into the new field, UPCB is also expanding core-business capacity. The company said its 100%-owned subsidiary-Shanghai Unitech Electronics Co.-is increasingly installing production equipment to expand output at its second plant in Shanghai. The plant will double output to 500,000 square feet of PCBs from current 250,000 square feet this quarter. The plant will launch a new round of production expansion project sometime this half.
Dongguan Somacis Graphic Announces Manufacture of First PCB
The Chinese company Dongguan Somacis Graphic PCB Co. Ltd, incorporated after the joint-venture between the Italian SOMACIS pcb industries group and the English Graphic Plc, has announced that it has just manufactured the first complete high-tech printed circuit board within its production factory located in Chashan, Dongguan City.
NASA’s Science Building Breaks Eco-friendly Ground
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., received its official groundbreaking ceremony July 16. The three-story office and laboratory building, known as the Exploration Sciences Building, was designed by EwingCole.
The multi-million dollar Exploration Sciences Building is the first building project of the Goddard Space Flight Center's campus master plan, and serves as a launching pad for NASA-driven space science research over the next 50 years and anchors a new pedestrian-friendly science neighborhood.
EwingCole created a flexible layout with collaborative spaces strategically located in coordination with NASA's organizational structure and the building circulation to facilitate informal interaction between scientists.
Working in conjunction with laboratory planning consultant M+W Zander, the project team developed a design which allows for the efficient and effective configuration of utilities and laboratory spaces, including new chemistry, electronics and research laboratories."
The new building will be occupied by personnel from the Astrophysics Science Division, the Solar Systems Exploration Division, as well as the Directorate office itself.
The building is LEED Registered and actively pursuing LEED for New Construction Silver Certification.
What makes this a green building is that EwingCole has integrated sustainable design initiatives on sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
NASA has determined that all new facilities projects will reach the Silver rating. The Silver rating signifies a high level of commitment to designing, procuring, and installing environmentally friendly materials and incorporating sustainable practices in both design and construction.
AT&S Expands in China
AT&S, largest producer of printed circuit boards in Europe, has started to equip its third plant in Shanghai. In plant two, after the successful ramp-up of the third production line, an additional line can be installed.
After having put the first plant in Shanghai, China, into operation in 2002, the second plant now also runs with full steam. By ramping-up the third production line, the second plant has been finished as initially planned. Based on the trend towards more complex printed circuit boards, an additional fourth line will be installed. The ramp-up has already begun and will be completed in November of this year.
Simultaneously, the Company will, step by step, put the
third plant into operation. Necessary investments into equipment are currently
being made. Capacities out of this plant will be available in the fourth quarter
of the running fiscal year.
New R&D Labs Promise Jobs in
Korea
South Korea has established cooperative ties with eight companies to set up R&D
centers in the country, giving the industry a major boost.
The government said the contracts include those with chipmaker Analog Devices Inc.; Toppan Photomasks, a supplier of photomask technologies; database management giant Oracle; and software professionals Aveva plc, BEA Systems Inc. and TASS B.V. It also attracted French car exhaust manufacturer Faurecia and Sigma Coatings, a supplier of corrosion-resistant products.
Negotiations are underway for more R&D centers, with some to be completed by yearend.
McIlvaine Company,
Northfield, IL 60093-2743
Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax: 847-784-0061;
E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com;
Web site: www.mcilvainecompany.com