Antenna manufacturer Wha Yu Industrial Co (譁裕實業) yesterday inaugurated its new NT$500 million (US$18 million) facility at the Fengshan Industrial Park (鳳山工業區) in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口).
Wha Yu said the new plant would boost the ratio of products made in Taiwan to 50 percent of its total output next year, compared with 30 percent this year, with the remaining 70 percent coming from China.
In addition to antenna production, the new Fengshan plant would be used to manufacture surface-mount technology (SMT) products and electronics manufacturing services, it said.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
Wha Yu mainly supplies antennas for automotive radars, wireless networking and Internet of Things applications.
It has broken into the supply chain for low-orbit satellites in the US and received an MFi — Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod — production certification from Apple Inc to supply transmission lines, chargers, speakers and other accessories, Wha Yu president Chen Shih-chung (陳世忠) said.
Together with its partners, the company has also tapped into the base station market for low-orbit satellites, which could become a major revenue driver once the company ramps up production in the coming years, he added.
Wha Yu chairman Tsou Mi-fu (鄒宓富) said he expects the company’s gross margin to rise to about 30 percent from 20 percent now, supported by its new lineup of products.
While Taiwan has been aggressively pushing 5G networks, a big problem is 5G signals bouncing off buildings instead of penetrating them.
Better antennas, like those Wha Yu makes, offer a way to get around this problem, Tsou said.
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