AT&S with groundbraking ceremony in China

"We will invest (Phase One) around USD 297 million to build a state-of-art HDI printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing base in west China," said Andreas Gerstenmayer, CEO of AT&S Group. The new factory will be developed in three phases depending on market demand. The annual capacity for Phase One is around 200'000 sqm. The main focus will be on high-end PCBs for smart-phone and tablets market, which is believed to boom in the next five years. "Based on what I have learnt from the great blueprint of Chongqing Liangjiang, I am very sure that AT&S will benefit from this", said Andreas Gerstenmayer. This year marked the 10th anniversary of AT&S successful venture into China since setting up the first HDI factory in shanghai in 2001. So far with USD 600 million investments, AT&S Shanghai is one of the world largest single HDI PCB manufacturing bases in terms of revenues and output. To meet the customer needs for high integrated circuit boards, a further line will be ramped up in July. Chongqing is situated in southwestern China at the junction of the Jialing River with the Yangtze, and is about 1'450 kilometres from Shanghai. The decision in favour of Chongqing was strongly influenced by the existing high level of industrialisation in the region and the presence of a highly qualified workforce. The municipality of Chongqing has a population of nearly 30 million people and a large number of universities and research institutions. China has been using its "Go West" strategy to promote and drive forward growth in this region in particular since 1999. © AT&S