Chapter 6 - Electronic Manufacturing Service Industries

Abstract

This chapter describes the electronic manufacturing service (EMS) industries in China. EMSs include device-level electronic packaging, printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication, and printed circuit board assembly of China. The primary aims of device-level electronic packaging are to protect the component from environmental contamination, to provide communication links with other components, to facilitate handling and testing, and to remove heat generated during operation. Foreign companies with packaging plants in China include ACE Semiconductor Shanghai, Alphatec Electronics Shanghai, IBM, Intel, and Mitsubishi Stone Semiconductor. Major domestic semiconductor companies in China include the Hua Jing Electronics Groups and Shanghai Belling Stock Holding Co., Ltd. The major electronics packaging technologies include plastic packaging, metal packaging, hybrid microcircuit packaging, and high-density packaging. PCBs are the basic building blocks of interconnection technology. They serve as the backbone of electronic systems. In 2003, a China Printed Circuit Association (CPCA) survey of the Chinese PCB industry illustrated that the production value and output of China was US$6B. This PCB industrial output ranks second in the world market after Japan. In the first half of 2004, the total export of PCBs was US$1.024B, with a year-to-year increase of 58.2%. Today China is the most attractive region in the world for electronics manufacturing services.