Technology Microcosm

Phase 4

A virtuous cycle of victory and becoming No. 1

The exact target is 200 billion yen in sales. And once this goal is achieved, they have their sights set on becoming the world's No. 1 in market share.

From the beginning, Fujikura has been conscious of the global market and big business. A symbol of this was the establishment of the Thai PCTT in 1988. manufacturing technology transfer from Japan was carried out promptly, and a mass production system was established with a high-quality workforce. In addition, we have consistently adhered to the concept of "roll-to-roll" and have completed a unique manufacturing system that covers the entire process with a self-contained integrated line. Subsequently, supported by the strong demand for FPCs, the Prachin Buri plant in charge of back-end processing was added in 1996, and in 2001, the Ayutthaya plant began operations with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and technology. PCTT now has the world's largest production capacity as a factory specializing in FPCs, enabling an ample supply of various FPC products to meet future growth markets. In this way, Fujikura's FPC business Formation, together with the Tohoku Fujikura and Sakura Development Centers, which are in charge of prototyping, evaluation, pre-production, and new product development up to large-scale mass production, as well as FESL, which was established in Shanghai in 2001, and the Sales strategy Formation, which are deployed around the world, are now completely confronted by the global market.

On the other hand, while constantly pursuing the possibilities of FPC applications, we are also taking on a number of technological challenges. For example, polyimide FPCs can be mounted with components by soldering just like regular rigid printed circuit boards (RPCs), and because they have excellent electrical and mechanical properties such as dielectric constant and outgassing, COF (Chip On Flex) mounting, in which semiconductor elements are directly mounted, has been put into practical use. application to display devices such as liquid crystal displays, storage media devices such as HDDs, communication devices such as mobile phones, and package devices such as CSP (Chip Scale Package). Fujikura is also thoroughly pursuing this technological trend. For example, we have accumulated numerous achievements in "wire bond COF," in which ICs are directly mounted by wire bonding, and have expanded its applications especially to PDPs (Plasma Display Panels). We are also pioneering "flip chip method COF," in which semiconductors are bonded face down. In addition, we have a lineup of products closer to the semiconductor field, such as fine pitch FPCs, multilayer board FPCs, SMT (Surface Mount Technology) high-density mounting, and wafer-level Lineup (名) (high-density packaging). Furthermore, the company is actively developing products that utilize Fujikura's comprehensive technological capabilities, such as hybrid products that combine FPC and MBSW (membrane switches).

The company's immediate target for the future is to achieve sales of 200 billion yen. Once this goal is achieved, the company aims to become the world's largest manufacturer of this product.
As the name suggests, FPCs are flexible, and can now be incorporated into any minute space. They will no longer be used in conventional ways, but will be required to be used under even harsher conditions, and technological evolution will likely be pushed to ever greater limits. Therefore, Fujikura's engineers must always think flexibly! They will continue to have a flexible, challenging attitude, able to easily overcome any difficult challenge. And as we make achievements that earn our customers' gratitude, saying, "It was only because we incorporated Fujikura-made FPCs that we were able to dominate the global market," we aim to build ideal win-win relationships with our customers. As a group of true professionals in the electronics industry...