China's expanding electronics industry.

Visits

Circuits Assembly had the privilege of recently visiting two electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers located in the Shanghai area. Both are also currently in the process of expanding manufacturing operations in China.

Flextronics

Flectronics (Shanghai, China) has a long-established and strong foothold in China, and Circuits Assembly was able to visit their facility located just across the river in the Pudong Free Trade Zone. The company's first site in China was built in Shekou, Shenzhen province--13 years before moving to Xixiang in the neighboring county.

The company's 286,080-sq. ft. Pudong facility boasts 12 surface-mount lines and 1,645 employees. Flextronics Plastics is located a short distance from the printed circuit board (PCB) facility. Customers serviced in the Shanghai facility are Hewlett Packard, Motorola, Lucent and Alcatel, and products manufactured include mobile phones and Motorola base stations. Greg Collins, vice president for North China, oversees Pudong operations and is also responsible for all Flextronics' operations in North China.

The site ranks among the top three Flextronics China facilities in terms of work force strength and manufacturing space. The company does not calculate revenue by site, but on a regional scale--the Americas, Europe and Asia. Flextronics' Asian operations contribute 25 percent of the company's global revenues, and China accounts for 60 percent of the company's production capacity in the region. These statistics will change soon, as the company is still expanding in China. Plans are underway to build a second industrial park in Malu Town, Jiading District--approximately 30 kilometers from the Pudong facility.

At present, Flextronics' largest facility is located in the Doumen Industrial Park. The site, which covers 1,540,628 sq. ft., features 22 surface-mount lines with a total work force of 6,205 employees.

Solectron

Suzhou, located approximately 80 kilometers from Shanghai, is often referred to as the "Garden City." Suzhou's China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park is home to Solectron's most profitable facility. The Suzhou facility, one of the company's three sites in China, began production in 1996. Kent Chen, vice president and general manager of Solectron China, arrived in 1995 to prepare the site for production and now oversees all three China locations.

Currently, the 330,000-sq. ft. site is managed by H.S. Lee, vice president and general manager, and employs 3,600 workers in a combined manufacturing and repair facility, which includes PCB assembly, box build and repair services.

The Suzhou facility features 27 surface-mount lines and four box build lines, yet additional capacity is needed. A new 1.2 million-sq, ft. site, which will come online in three phases over three to five years, is under construction nearby.

Chen believes that training is a major component of Solectron's China operation. Circuits Assembly was allowed to visit a classroom environment where trainees were taught hand-soldering techniques in a specially equipped laboratory. We were also given a tour of the training department's library, which holds many industry books and magazines to aid in research and study.

In conjunction with training, Chen believes Solecton offers a tremendous opportunity for all employees to advance within the company. Potential growth in China is strong, and Chen related that he often tells beginners that, if within five years, they have not moved into a management position, they should consider another line of work.

Show Report

NEPCON Shanghai, Display China 2002 a Success

The 12th annual NEPCON Shanghai 2002 and the first-ever Display China 2002 exhibitions were held April 9-12 at the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Centre in Shanghai, China. The exhibition boasted approximately 450 exhibitors--a 20 percent increase over 2001. More than 12,000 visitors, including 250 conference delegates, filled over 160,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space.

Overall, attendees conveyed optimistic feelings concerning the future of China's, particularly Shanghai's, electronics industry. George Guo, vice president and general manager of mecnomatix Unicam (Shenzhen, China), best illustrated this feeling. "Shanghai is the place to be and now is the time to be here," he said. Many at the show have agreed with the statement--walking away from the show with a negative vibe would have been close to impossible.

Products from more than a dozen countries were represented, and international support received from national groups was strong. The Korea Pavilion, hosted by the Electronics Industry Association of Korea (EIAK, Seoul, Korea), and the USA Pavilion, hosted by the SMTA (Edina, MN), were new additions in 2002. Other national pavilions included: the German Pavilion, led by the German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers Association (VDMA, Hanover, Germany); the Singapore Pavilion, organized by Singapore Trade Development Board (STDB, Singapore); and the United Kingdom Pavilion, headed by Electronic Exporters Group (Portsmouth, United Kingdom).

The SMT High-Level Conference was well attended--the two-day conference attracted 350 attendees and addressed 14 important issues and topics. Presentation titles included: The Macroscopic Development Situation of China's Electronic and Information Industry and Related Polices; The Opportunities and Challenges of China's Electronic and Information Industry with China Entering the WTO; The Introduction of New Development Trends in SMT Technology; and Development and Introduction of Lead-Free Manufacturing for Consumer Products.

If the most novel and innovative displays were awarded, ERSA (Wertheim, Germany) may have won a prize. Company founder, Ernst Sachs, applied for a soldering iron patent in 1921, and ERSA's booth featured a display depicting the complete evolution of the soldering iron--hefty, ancient 1921 and 1923 models were displayed.

Next year, the event will be known as Electronics Manufacturing Technology China 2003. The exhibition will feature five sectors: NEPCON Shanghai 2003; Display China 2003; Test and Measurement China 2003; Electronics Manufacturing and Services China 2003; and Procurement China 2003. The event will again be held in the Everbright Convention and Exhibition Centre, May 13-16, 2003. For more information, contact Shermen Ho at (852) 2965 1668; e-mail: [e-mail].

Images of Success

Shanghai's future in the electronics industry is looking brighter everyday

1. Entrance to Nepcon Shanghai;

2. The busy aisles at Nepcon Shanghai;

3. Solectron, Suzhou;

4. Discussing products at Nepcon Shanghai.

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

Based in Singapore John can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail].