Furukawa joins Japanese exodus to China

A Furukawa Electric product story

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Apr 18, 2002

Furukawa Electric has set up a subsidiary in Chiangsu Province, China that will produce and sell copper strips used in connectors for IT-related electrical equipment.

Furukawa Electric has set up a subsidiary in Chiangsu Province, China that will produce and sell copper strips used in connectors for IT-related electrical equipment to Furukawa Electric's customers who have moved manufacturing facilities to China.

The new company, to be called Furukawa Metal (Wuxi), was officially registered at the end of March.

The company will set up a coil centre and begin sales in the summer of 2002.

By August 2003, the unit will have developed an integrated manufacturing system for all stages of the manufacturing chain, from casting to producing finished goods.

Trials will be completed by August 2003 and the subsidiary will start operations in January 2004.

The company will have production capacity of roughly 1000t a month and will produce mainly phosphorous blue and plated copper strips used in connectors for IT-related equipment.

Making optimal use of the developmental knowhow and expertise in manufacturing technology Furukawa Electric has obtained over the years, the new company will also feature an integrated quality control system as part of its manufacturing setup.

The Furukawa Metal Company develops, manufactures and sells high-quality copper strips.

However, with the downturn in demand for information technology goods and services, many of its customers have started to shift manufacturing operations to China.

As a result, demand for electronic components on the Chinese mainland has increased, leading to Furukawa Electric's decision to establish a manufacturing subsidiary in China.

Japanese companies moving to China to gain new profits from the predicted continued expansion of the Chinese IT industry will be the company's main customers.

The Japanese copper strips market has been stagnant in recent years, with only high-quality strips used in IT-related equipment posting sales growth.