TORONTO -- SMTC has bought out its Chinese joint venture partner, Alco Electronics, and will expand its Dongguan, China, electronics manufacturing facility.

Financial terms were not announced.

The deal is interesting because SMTC is considerably smaller than Alco. Hong Kong-based Alco, however, saw sales drop precipitously over the past year, losing about 25% of its annual revenue.

For its part, SMTC said the expansion is part of its strategic plan to strengthen its global footprint, enhance manufacturing capabilities in China, and support the growth of new business in the region.

The company operates a 150,000 sq. ft. facility in Dongguan, in addition to facilities in Canada, the US and Mexico.

In a press statement, SMTC president and chief executive Claude Germain said, "We are excited to announce this further expansion in China, which meets our strategic initiative to align our footprint to meet the needs of our growing customer base. This growth and investment is consistent with our corporate objective of delivering intelligent, profitable growth to customers with products in the mid-to-low-volume, higher-mix segment of the market."