News & Events
HDI PCB demand has been robust for high-end applications, and major makers including Unimicron Technology, Compeq Manufacturing, and Tripod Technology are planning to enforce capacity expansions in 2022 to meet the demand, according to industry sources.
The major makers have again resumed full capacity utilization for HDI boards to support strong applications for handsets, notebooks, and tablets, as well as for non-consumer segments such as memory modules and automotive electronics. Even smaller peers have seen their capacities fully booked amid the ever-mounting demand, the sources said.
To meet the demand, Unimicron, having invested heavily in IC substrate capacity expansions, will move to adjust its existing PCB production lines to allow more capacity for HDI boards. Compeq has readied new space at its plant complex in Chongqing, China to expand HDI board production capacity in 2022. And Tripod is also set to enforce capacity expansion at its plant site in China's Wuxi next year after starting commercial runs at its new plant in China's Hubei province in late first-half 2021.
Even leading flexible PCB maker Zhen Ding Technology also plans to set up a new plant in Huaian, China dedicated to HDI PCB production, and notebook PCB specialist HannStar Board is also keen on equipment upgrades to produce higher-end HDI boards for business-use notebooks. Other peers with smaller HDI board capacities, such as Nan Ya PCB, Gold Circuit Electronics, Dynamic Electronics, Chin-Poon Industrial, and Unitech are also enhancing their HDI PCB capacity deployments for niche applications such as servers, networking equipment, and automotive electronics, the sources continued.
Most HDI board makers in Taiwan will see their shipments ramp up month by month in the peak season, as Chinese handset vendors have resumed shipment pull-in momentum following inventory adjustments in the second quarter, and they are also starting regular peak-season deliveries to Apple for MacBook and iPad applications, the sources said.
In terms of non-consumer applications, makers will continue to enjoy stable growth in shipments for memory modules and automotive electronics in the second half of the year, the sources said, adding that the penetration of HDI boards in EVs is expected to increase fast.
By DIGITIMES