Europe’s first new PCB plant in two decades
European PCB production has, for several years, been outcompeted and outperformed by production in Asia. As a consequence, the industry has faced consolidation over the years and there are far fewer production plants than before. But now, Lithuanian high-tech group Teltonika is building a new PCB factory in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Teltonika has been on an expansion spree as of late, the company recently announced plans to construct a new electronics assembly plant in Vilnius to address the growing interest the company's EMS services. And this new printed circuit board (PCB) plant is just one of ten projects to be established in the Teltonika High-Tech Hill technology park.
Covering an area of more than 33,000 square metres, the PCB factory will house manufacturing facilities and administrative premises. The budget for the project is estimated to be EUR 143 million – most of which is earmarked for specialised manufacturing equipment.
The company says that the ambitious PCB project is a much-needed link to its supply chain, making Teltonika a one-stop-shop manufacturer of electronics in Europe.
As stated earlier, the new PCB is one out of ten projects currently planned for the Teltonika High-Tech Hill technology park, a 50-hectare territory in Vilnius. The high-tech park will house more than ten new facilities, and Teltonika says that the investments will amount to more than EUR 3.7 billion. Once completed the park is planned to employ around 6,000 people. For the PCB factory specifically, Teltonika intends to employ around 250 highly qualified specialists.
"We have long excelled in the production of Internet of Things (IoT) products. As we already produce electronics and plastics, now, with the establishment of our PCB factory in Vilnius, we are strategically positioning ourselves to complete our supply chain," says Arvydas Paukštys president and founder of Teltonika IoT Group.
It’s been a couple of years since anyone in Europe built a new PCB factory – in fact it’s been more than two decades since we last saw a greenfield investment for the PCB industry.
Once completed, the plant will specialise in the production of PCBs for high-tech products. It will develop technologies for HDI, SBU, and Flex-Rigid, as well as for the design of high-frequency PCBs. Some of the mass production technology solutions that will be utilised at the plant will be used for the first time in Europe, according to the company.
For example, the plant will be the first one on the continent to use only digital solder mask printing technology and Vertical Continuous Plating (VCP) for mass production. There will also be a strong focus on ecology, with wastewater and process water from production being treated and recycled back into production.
