Taiwan' s PCB Equipment Makers See Bright Outlook This Year

Taipei, March 22, 2006 (CENS)--Thanks to the strong growth in third-generation cellphones and BGA (ball grid array)-based computer chips, domestic PCB (printed circuit board) equipment manufacturers—including Tong-Tai Machine & Tool Co., Taiwan Takisawa Technology Co., and Ta Liang Technology Co.—saw a 30% year-on-year growth in shipments in the first quarter of this year.

Most of these firms said the prosperity in the industry would continue during the second half of this year, as they have received orders sufficient to fill their production lines for at least three months.

Tong-Tai said it would see shipments of its PCB drilling machines reach 70 units in the first quarter of this year, up 40% from the corresponding period of last year. With two months of orders in hand, the company holds an optimistic view about the outlook of the domestic PCB equipment manufacturing industry in the second half of this year.

Wang Sen-mao, Tong-Tai' s sales manager, attributed the prosperity of the domestic PCB equipment manufacturing sector to the increased demand for 3G cellphones and BGA substrates for personal computers, which has pushed PCB firms to procure higher-end production equipment such as high-efficiency PCB drilling machines.

To meet booming domestic demand, Tong-Tai has recently introduced some new machinery models, including a PCB drilling machine that can operate at 200, 000 revolutions per minute and drill to a depth of 6.35mm, which can help shorten processing time and reduce the occurrence of breakdowns. The company noted it has sold 30 such high-end machines over the past two months.

Ta Liang, which is capable of producing key parts like computerized controllers on its own, can roll out PCB drilling machines at a production cost of 30% less than that of Japanese counterparts, and 10% less than that of rival domestic manufacturers.

Since the end of last year, Ta Liang has received orders for PCB drilling machines from big clients such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Nan Ya Plastics Corporation. The company estimated it would see sales of NT$310 million (US$9.68 million at US$1:NT$32) in the first quarter of this year, up a whopping 50% from the same period of last year. As Ta Liang has received orders to fill its production lines through the end of June, it is thinking of expanding production capacities in both Taiwan and mainland China in the future.

Taiwan Takisawa noted it has maintained monthly shipments of more than 10 PCB drilling machines in the first quarter of this year because of the bottoming out of the domestic PCB equipment manufacturing sector since the end of last year. The company boasted it has received enough orders to fill its production lines through the end of June.

The booming sales of the PCB drilling machines by Tong-Tai, Taiwan Takisawa, and Ta Liang have benefited the manufacturers of drilling heads, including Tera Autotech Corp. and Topoint Technology Inc.

Tera said it saw sales grow 1.3-fold year-on-year to reach NT$327 million (US$10.21 million) in the first two months of this year. Topoint grabbed NT$166 million (US$5.18 million) in sales in the first two months of this year, up 72% from the same period of last year.