Opportunities and challenges in China's PCB industry

Although new applications place high demands on raw materials and manufacturing processes, PCBs with low technical difficulty still account for a high proportion in the market. Therefore, improving manufacturing yield is a direct manifestation of corporate competitiveness. Such as BGA welding reliability problems, technical problems in small-size PCB processing, process control during thick copper processing, etc., are all problems that PCB companies need to pay attention to and solve in the process of development and growth.

The specific market challenges are mainly: First, the challenges brought by the emerging technologies and applications to the manufacturing process. In particular, consumer electronics, the size is getting smaller and smaller, the density is large, the component lead spacing is shrinking, and the PCB manufacturing and soldering process are highly demanded. Second, the IC industry is pushing down the PCB high-end market. The situation of new MIS packaging technology and high-end PCB market competition has emerged; third, market competition has intensified, it is more difficult for enterprises to become bigger and stronger; fourth, there is a shortage of professional talents, and the cultivation of manufacturing talents will also “catch up from the dolls”.

As the PCB industry transitions from high-speed growth to industrial upgrading, competition in the industry has intensified, and many PCB manufacturers have begun to engage in downstream electronic patch and plug-in production. According to statistics, the number of professional patching and plug-in factories of various sizes in China has exceeded 5,000. Foreign buyers purchase circuit boards, patch/plug-in products and final electronic finished products in the Chinese market, accounting for more than half of their total purchases. As can be seen from the list of the top 100, as far as the overall industry is concerned, there is not much difference between enterprises, and there are 15 enterprises with sales income of 200-400 million yuan. PCB is still a highly dispersed industry. It is difficult to form a single or several unique situation. This is very different from the development of IC manufacturing.

As the development of China's PCB industry matures, the growth rate of the industry tends to be stable, and development will gradually slow down. Seeking new market growth points has become the most urgent issue for PCBs. At the same time, the environmental protection department's supervision of the industry's environmental protection will continue to increase, and there will be higher requirements for the company's environmental assessment. Deep understanding of the hot spots and requirements of environmental protection policies and adhering to green and intelligent manufacturing are issues that must be paid attention to in the healthy and rapid development of the PCB industry. In addition, the problem of rising raw material prices that have been going on for two years is also an urgent problem for the PCB industry. Faced with a series of difficult issues, companies are striving for innovation and development.

China's PCB industry has gone through an extraordinary path from catching up to surpassing. Now, China's PCB industry has occupied nearly 50% of the world's total, becoming the world's largest PCB supply base. This will be best demonstrated by the Shenzhen International Circuit Board Sourcing Fair (CSShow 2017). From August 29th to 31st this year, CS Show 2017 will be held for the fourth time. This kind of exhibition with PCB/FPC procurement as the theme, the exhibition area and the number of visitors have reached new highs, fully demonstrating that the global PCB development focus is Transfer to China. However, China has a long way to go to become a true PCB powerhouse. Previously, industry experts have reminded that PCB companies should pay attention to their operations. China's PCB industry will not continue to grow at a high speed in the future, and the PCB product structure will have a big change, the density will increase, and the difficulty will increase. Therefore, PCB companies must optimize processes and continuously improve their automation and intelligence capabilities.