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82 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 process at the individual-piece level. None of these initiatives directly generates dollars. What they produce instead is something else: certainty, which is a highly valuable but invisible product that PCB manufacturers must create after when expanding into Thailand. Sundell Technology is still ramping up capacity quarter by quarter. While outsiders are focused on when the factory will reach full capacity, the sequence of Sundell Technology's moves is worth noting: first, create certainty, then wait for orders to materialize. During our visit, Sundell Technology President He Zixiu, General Manager Song Bo, and Quality Director Peng Min were interviewed about how a high-end PCB factory creates "certainty, "and when it can convert that certainty to orders. Creating Certainty Through the Details Why did Sundell choose Ayutthaya for building in Thailand, rather than Prachin Buri, where Chinese- funded companies are more heavily concentrated? Different than the answer expected, their response was simple and focused: people and water. "Ayutthaya is close to Bangkok, has a large resi- dent population, and sees substantial population flows; this was our first consideration," said Song Bo, general manager of Sundell Technology, adding that the second consideration was less obvious: Thailand is a major agricultural country, and during the dry season, priority must be given to domestic and agricultural water needs. Industrial water with- drawal is not permitted upstream but is allowed downstream. "Prachin Buri is upstream, while we are downstream, close to the river mouth. The stability of water resources was a hard constraint factored into our site-selection decision." To ensure stable water resources, Sundell Tech- nology designed its wastewater treatment system to meet standards more stringent than current discharge requirements, while also reserving capacity for future expansion. The system is designed to accommodate potential tightening of discharge standards over the next 10 years and beyond, thereby minimizing the impact of future local environmental policies on continuous factory operations and ensuring reliable delivery. The devastating floods of 2011, which inundated much of Thailand's industrial belt, remain a shared memory for all companies with factories in Thailand. The flood protection measures are twofold. Rojana Industrial Park built a raised entrance and an approxi- mately three-meter-high floodwall around its perim- eter. Sundell Technology also raised its factory floor 1.1 meters above the park's road level, constructed the exterior walls entirely of concrete from ground level up to a height of 1.2 meters and below the windowsills, and installed removable flood barriers at the factory entrances. "If floodwaters ever do reach us, we can simply put the barriers in place, and that gives us two layers of protection," Song Bo said. "But since the factory was completed, we haven't had to use them even once. We hope we never will. When it came to their people, Sundell Technology displayed the same level of detail thinking and planning, arranging six-month visas for personnel stationed onsite by its suppliers. "We can't have people working here while constantly being checked by immigration authorities," Song Bo said. "They need a sense of stability." Sundell's solder mask and legend line. T H A I L A N D FACTO RY S E R I ES • S U N D E L L T EC H N O LO GY