Bangkok Post - Plan to ramp up PCB sector bears fruit

Chinese firm sets up plant in Ayutthaya

PUBLISHED : 17 Oct 2024 at 05:38

NEWSPAPER SECTION: Business

WRITER: Lamonphet Apisitniran

The state plan to strengthen printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing in Thailand to serve smart electronics and digital businesses, including electric vehicles and data centres, is gathering momentum, with a Chinese PCB maker starting operations in Ayutthaya, says the Board of Investment (BoI).

Well Tek Electronics, a subsidiary of China-based Welgao Electronics, is the first new PCB investor to open its factory in the Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, utilising an investment budget of 2.5 billion baht.

The company is part of what the BoI calls a "big wave" of foreign PCB manufacturers that have invested in Thailand since early 2023.

As of September this year, investors had submitted 95 projects worth 162 billion baht to the board for investment incentive packages.

"Thailand's PCB industry has grown exponentially over the past year," said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the BoI, as he visited the Well Tek Electronics plant.

The company took less than a year to build the factory, located on 64,000 square metres in the industrial complex.

Well Tek Electronics produces high-density interconnect multilayer PCBs, characterised by the high density of electrical interconnections between layers.

In the first phase, the factory will produce 30-layer circuit boards and there is a plan to upgrade the technology to increase the number of layers to 50 in the second phase.

Multilayer PCBs are needed for complex electronic devices, including data servers and power supply used in electric cars as well as data centres and artificial technology-based devices.

Well Tek Electronics plans to sell 40% of its products to serve domestic demand and will export the remainder.

Up to 50% of raw materials used in the manufacturing process will be sourced domestically, said Mr Narit.

The company also employs 500 Thai staff, mostly engineers and technicians, at its factory.

According to the BoI, Well Tek Electronics is planning to cooperate with four universities in Bangkok and Ayutthaya to develop a PCB curriculum, aiming to increase the number of PCB experts.

The company also plans to set up an R&D centre to develop its products.