Taiwan-based PCB maker Tripod Technology, in view of fast growing demand for automotive PCBs, has increased the production capacity for the product line through appropriating a portion of the production capacity for LCD PCBs, according to company chairman Jimmy Wang at a press conference on September 5.

Although certification for automotive PCBs takes three years, market demand has been increasing rapidly, Wang indicated. Automotive PCBs account for 6-8% of Tripod's total revenues currently, Wang said. Demand for LCD PCBs has been comparatively weak due to a stagnant market for LCD panels, and therefore Tripod has shifted a portion of LCD PCB capacity to production of automotive PCBs, Wang explained. The diversity of Tripod's PCB product lines makes production management difficult, but affords flexibility in allocating the whole production capacity among product lines, Wang pointed out.

In order to minimize production cost, Tripod has selected a site in central China for setting up its second China factory next to the existing one in eastern China, Wang indicated.

Tripod expects to ship 95.0 million square feet of PCBs of all types in 2011, increasing by 21.8% from 2010.