Besides the new Thailand plant, STG will continue to manufacture PCB’s in its Sichuan factory, as well as continuing the cooperation with long-term partners. This dual approach will allow greater flexibility to STARTEAM GLOBAL customers in an ever-changing world where things can alter in the blink of an eye, creating a synergistic effect between our China and Thailand factory.

Thailand has over 40 years of history in PCB production, specifically for Automotive and Consumer products. This shows that there are already set quality standards which have been established and there is a lot of skilled workforces available. This is partly because of Thailand’s renowned Engineering universities, that ensure a continuous supply of motivated and highly trained engineers coming through the ranks.

Responsible for running the production will be STG’s Chief Manufacturing Officer HB Yang and STARTEAM GLOBAL Thailand General Manager Neville Leung. HB Yang has over 30 years of experience in PCB production leadership and has already successfully navigated STG’s Sichuan plant to where it is today. STARTEAM GLOBAL Thailand’s GM, Neville Leung, joined the PCB industry in 1989 and has over 10 years of experience in the Thai PCB market, with his know-how and experience being a crucial element in setting up production in the country. Both possess a high-quality mindset with rich automotive PCB manufacturing and technical knowledge.

STARTEAM GLOBAL’s management has already decided on how the factory should be set up and have set some targets, which are to be worked towards from Day One. One of these pillars, is a high degree of automation, with lean processes and a connected process line. This will be supported through automatic handling machines in the factory. Staying on the subject of technological innovation, STG wants to operate the plant as a ‘Smart Factory’. This means real time data access and traceability in the production line, as well as real time data analysis through a MES system. Lastly, something implemented at STG’s Sichuan plant, is the Zero-Defect Policy. This means that there is continuous R&D made into the production to minimize defects, while filtering out any faulty parts through strenuous quality testing. The focus will lie heavily on prevention instead of correction, to minimize waste of materials, time, and energy resources.

Production materials will be sourced locally where it’s possible, with STG already having started the process of qualifying Thailand Kingboard base material. For materials that necessitate procurement from overseas, STARTEAM GLOBAL plans to purchase materials through the Sichuan plant and then ship them to Thailand via train, sea or truck routes.

In terms of the ESG requirements, a project team has been formed under the leadership of STARTEAM GLOBAL Manager Arianna Ji, in order to consider potential investments from Day One. Concrete steps will be communicated as they are implemented.

Daniel Jacob, CEO of STARTEAM GLOBAL, said the following:
“I am very proud and excited to be announcing this monumental news to the market. I have dedicated a lot of my time towards this project in the past months and it feels good to finally be able to openly communicate this step.

We are aware of the expectations and general feeling from the market, and quickly understood how important it is to set up a competitive alternative to the globally most important production based in China. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers to our Thailand plant very soon and to be part of our China + 1 strategy.”

STARTEAM GLOBAL aims to start the plant’s mass production with Consumer and Industrial products in Q2 of 2023, focusing on 1-6L boards. Once the production line has been established and the plant is eligible for ISO certification, the process to obtain the IATF16949 will be started.

STARTEAM GLOBAL is a globally recognized printed circuit board manufacturer with 30 years of experience in the industry. We Exceed Manufacturing by delighting our customers with sustainability in everything we do. Our factory in Sichuan province, China manufactures PCBs to the highest quality and reliability standards, including automotive, medical and railway safety requirements, supported by our engineering and quality experts. STARTEAM GLOBAL strives to deliver the most competitive premium products and supply solutions to satisfy all your PCB requirements. Visit us on www.starteam.global for further information.