Taiwanese electronics conglomerate New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團) yesterday said operations at its new factory in the Philippines would begin later this quarter as part of efforts to move some labor-intensive production away from China.
The factory, operated by group member Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶電子), is to formally open next month or in March and start by focusing on low-end electronics like calculators, chief executive officer Simon Shen (沈軾榮) told reporters ahead of the group’s Lunar New Year party.
The group’s Chinese factory will shift its focus to high-end manufacturing to target the domestic market amid rapid increases in wages and signs of resilience in hiring there, he said.
Photo: Cho Yi-chun, Taipei Times
New Kinpo invested NT$1 billion (US$31.5 million) to set up the Philippine factory last year, with plans to invest another NT$1 billion this year in the facility, which is forecast to account for about 10 to 30 percent of the group’s total revenue by the end of this year, Shen said.
Established in 1973, the group has 23 member companies, led by Cal-Comp Electronics and Communications Co (泰金寶), Kinpo Electronics and AcBel Polytech Inc (康舒科技). It has seven listed firms and employs 80,000 people.
XYZprinting Inc (三緯), one of its units, aims to become the world’s largest 3D printer maker this year by shipping more than 100,000 printers worldwide. Last year, the firm shipped about 30,000 units, Shen said.
“We have the capability to become the world’s No. 1 and we must achieve that goal,” Shen said.
Founded in 2013, XYZprinting is the world’s second-biggest manufacturer of 3D printers, after Makerbot Industries LLC of the US.
Shen said XYZprinting expanded its product range last year to food printers and a dual-color model with a scanner, and will launch a “secret weapon” later this year to woo the market. He did not give any details about the new product.
XYZprinting’s revenue is forecast to jump 384 percent this year to NT$2.2 billion (US$69.3 million), Hsu said.
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