Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - The 90-10 Split

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Wuzhu Group, Shenzhen Fast Print, Shenzhen Sun Tak and Bomin Electronics. These three makers may be called second tier “four musketeers of China.” All have substantial expansions ongoing in various parts in China: Wuzhu in Dongguang, Fast Print in Yixing, Suntak in Jiangmen and Bomin in Meizhou.

Tat Chun Circuits. Some 51% of Tat Chun was acquired by Korean high layer-count MLB maker ISU Petasys in May of this year. “ISU” in Korean means “Pear Tree, or 梨樹. Peta is 10 to the 12th. The parent company, ISU Chemical, named it as Petasys to wish that it would grow to “infinity.” Tat Chun has had a business alliance with Japan’s Toppan-NEC, a competitor of ISU Petasys for Cisco’s programs. ISU Petasys is the largest supplier to Cisco. What is going to happen with Tat Chun, Toppan-NEC and ISU Petasys is beyond this author’s imagination. Good luck to all parties involved.

Ed.: For a larger version of Table 3, right-click on each table, then click View Image and increase the size.

Table 3

If readers have questions about other NTI-100 entries, the author would be happy to respond.

One final comment: The “80-20” rule normally applies to the amount of market share controlled by 20% of the manufacturers in the same field. It is estimated that there are 2,600 to 2,800 PCB companies in the world today. The 104 companies on the NTI-100 list represent 3.7% of the total. The total revenue ($48 billion) of these 104 makers accounted for 81% of the world output ($59 billion). Therefore, in the PCB field, the rule may be more like “90-10”; that is, the big get bigger and faster.

Once a PCB manufacturer’s revenue reaches a certain level, say, $500 million per annum, it must keep running, meaning continuous investment. Some companies are taking a different path, specializing in a niche market with niche products. Which is better?

Ed.: To see the 2011 NTI-100, click here.

See below for a list of the world's top PCB fabricators over the years: