Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), one of the leading contract electronics makers in Taiwan, has announced plans to build a factory in Poland to target automotive electronics clients.
In a statement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the company yesterday said that it is planning to invest more than NT$500 million (US$15.4 million) to build a factory in Poland, the first time the company is to extend its manufacturing to the European market.
Through its Poland-based subsidiary CGS Technology (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Compal is planning to spend about NT$77.7 million to acquire a parcel of land in Czeladz, Poland, and spend an additional 12.29 million euros (US$13.31 million) to build the plant, bringing the total investment to more than NT$500 million, the company said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
The company said it is already running an after-sales service center in Poland, and the investment in the European country is aimed at catering to the automotive electronics market.
The investment is part of the company’s efforts to meet regional demand in Europe, it said.
It expects construction of the facility to be completed by the end of the second quarter of next year, with production slated to begin by the end of the year, Compal said.
The new plant is expected to start generating sales in 2026, it added.
Automotive electronics is among Compal’s major businesses, but its products also include handheld devices, wearable gadgets, laptop and desktop computers, Internet of things applications, servers and healthcare equipment.
Compal’s automotive electronics customers are vehicle manufacturers based in Europe, and sales in the business are expected to grow at a double-digit pace this year, market analysts said.
Local news media cited unnamed sources from Compal as saying that the company did not rule out expanding its production in Poland beyond automotive electronics by taking into account customers’ needs.
Compal had focused on Vietnam in terms of overseas investments in the past, but it wants to be closer to its customers in Europe, local media reported.
Capital expenditure to meet overseas investments is expected to range between NT$7 billion and NT$8 billion this year, little changed from last year, they reported.
Compal has intensified its efforts in automotive electronics development, and the company last year started to produce automotive electronics items in a plant in Mexico, which has begun to post sales.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted