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76 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 The mSAP Roadmap Takes Shape FSQuality's Thailand plant has already established a solid manufacturing foundation. The Phase 1 fa- cility has a single-story, linear layout, where pro- duction flow is designed to minimize material movement and turnaround time from panel cutting through final shipment, while robotic arms, barcode scanning systems, and MES integration help re- duce errors associated with manual setup. Critical production areas are maintained to high cleanroom standards, providing the infrastructure needed for high-precision manufacturing. In what Liu describes as Phase 1.5 of their expan- sion, the focus is not simply on adding floor space and overall capacity, but more importantly on strength- ening the plant's inner-layer processing capabilities for high multilayer PCBs and developing finer-line processes tailored to optical module applications, such as supporting 1.6T optical modules and future generations of even higher-speed products. Toward this end, they will soon introduce an mSAP production line to enable finer-line circuitry HDI boards, optical module PCBs, and high-speed communications PCBs. Under its phased roadmap, FSQuality plans to progressively advance from its current, relatively mature line width/spacing capabilities toward 35/35 μm, before using mSAP to target 25/25 μm and laying the groundwork for even finer-line capabilities in the next stage. In terms of its product roadmap, Liu describes this strategy as staying "half a step ahead," initially focusing on 1.6T products, where clear market demand has already emerged, while also closely tracking the subsequent evolution toward 3.2T. Though well informed and prepared by the success of their Chinese plants, the new Thai- land factory is being built to serve high-end global customers, which means its equipment and process capabilities must be aligned with customer require- ments from the start. For this reason, FSQuality has favored newer-generation equipment since the early stages of the plant's development, rather than relocating older or phased-out capacity from China to Thailand. But equipment is only the starting point. Consultant Qin, a Taiwan-based expert who participated in the onsite discussions, noted that the first priority for an mSAP project is not choosing an equipment brand, but clearly defining the product: First, determine what types of PCBs the company intends to manufacture and what specifications it aims to achieve in the initial stage, then it define the required equipment capabilities. In turn, work backward to determine the configuration of the entire production line and the plant layout. "Product type, target specifications for each stage, equip- ment capabilities, and plant layout—the sequence matters and must not be reversed." This sequence may seem straightforward, but it Aerial view of the plant and the new building under construction. T H A I L A N D FACTO RY S E R I ES • FS Q UA L I T Y