Companies which produce printed circuit board (PCB) products in the country are expanding into new markets, as certain segments of the consumer electronics market have become matured and volatile, while others are adopting new business to tap into niche markets.
GUH Holdings Bhd and Qdos Flexcircuits Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Suiwah Corp Bhd, are making strategic moves to tap into new higher growth markets.
To enhance its competitive edge, Kontron Design Manufacturing Services (KDMS) has changed its electronic manufacturing service (EMS) business model to focus on design and research and development work for printed circuit assembled boards and embedded computer technologies, following the sale of its assets at its plant in Seberang Prai to Plexus Manufacturing Sdn Bhd early this year.
Embedded computers are electronic brains used in varied system and equipment to provide intelligence.
KDMS is changing its name to Kontron Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd before the year ends to better reflect the nature of the new business.
GUH, for example, is tapping into the market of new power-saving household appliances and also the light-emitting diode (LED) lighting segment with their double-sided and multi-layered PCB products.
“We are increasing the monthly production of double-sided and multi-layered PCBs to 70,000 sq m in 2012 at our plants in Penang and Suzhou, compared to 55,000 sq m per month a year ago,” GUH managing director Datuk Kenneth H'ng said.
“These will serve the branded white goods segment such as air-conditioners, refrigerators, and washers, and also the LED commercial lighting market. We are seeing orders from customers in AP coming now for the second and third quarter. We are (investing) RM18mil this year to produce the double-sided and multi-layered PCBs.”
The reason for GUH enlarging its white goods business segment is because of the slower growth in the LCD/LED television market.
“In the first quarter 2012, we expect slower sales for the PCB business, due to slower sales of LCD/LED-backlit televisions worldwide,” H'ng said.
GUH's high-end PCBs, which are largely used in branded LCD and LED-backlit televisions, generate about 40% of the group's revenue.
The sale of LED lighting systems is also expected to rise rapidly over the next 10 years, accelerating sharply after 2015, according to Colorado-based Pike Research, a research house which specialises in clean technology industry.
“The unit shipments, including lamps and luminaires, will rise from 66 million in 2011 to 542 million in 2021, an increase of more than 700%.
“Policy makers in Asia-Pacific believe that improvements to buildings' lighting can offer the most visible and easiest to achieve energy efficiency gains”.
“That will translate into cumulative revenues of US$11bil from 2011 through 2021 for LED lighting in Asia Pacific,” the report said.
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回覆刪除PCB Manufacture
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回覆刪除PCB Manufacturing