Compeq, Unitech, and Unimicron, three of Taiwan’s top rigid-flex board manufacturers, have excelled in their performance of supplying Apple and in the process, have demonstrated the global capacity for PCB in Taiwan. This performance is widely expected to improve over the course of next year.  

Apple’s Taiwanese PCB suppliers reported a negative growth in the first half of 2017 but then enjoyed rapid revenue growth after the new product was launched. In November, Compeq, Unitech, Tripod, Zhen Ding-KY and Flexium hit record highs in terms of revenue; in particular, Unitech’s revenue peaked for the four consecutive months and that of Zhen Ding and Flexium peaked for the three consecutive months.  

According KGI’s latest reports, rigid-flex boards for iPhone batteries will benefit battery models, battery capacity, and shipments in the second half of 2018, with the estimated growth of overall output expected to be around 40%~50% compared with 2017. Amongst the three suppliers (Compeq, Unitech, and Unimicron), Unitech’s brilliant performance is worth noting.    

According to Compeq and Unitech, the technical demand for rigid-flex boards and HDI is still strong in the fourth quarter, which will provide the necessary momentum for growth in 2018. 

Despite the decline in revenue compared to October, Unimicron hit record highs in November over the same period. According to PCB industry analysis, Unimicron is not an Apple FPC supplier, but it does however supply rigid boards and rigid-flex boards related to AMOLED.

Unimicron originally intended to withdraw from the supply of rigid-flex boards due to their high threshold and the low yield related to the AMOLED of iPhone X; with only Korean suppliers, Young Poong Group and Interflex, remaining in the market. Apple, however, intended to decentralize the supply chain by recruiting Unimicron. According to sources, Apple has transferred orders from Interflex to Unimicron due to Interflex’s failure to supply. (Source: Commercial Times)