IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1547121
OCTOBER 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 79 emphasis on sending Chinese engineers directly to the Thai plant. Their first task was to get the prod- ucts successfully into production and then train Thai and Myanmar employees through a "show them how, then let them do it themselves" approach. He believes that local employees have certain strengths when it comes to following clearly defined standards. But success depends on the company first establishing those standards and ensuring that knowledge and experience are continuously accumulated and embedded in day-to-day operations, illustrating a fundamental challenge of overseas expansion: Equipment can be installed and brought online relatively quickly, but organizational capabilities cannot be transferred at the same pace. True localization is not simply a matter of achieving a certain percentage of local employees. Rather, it is achieved when the factory can maintain consistent quality, deliver on schedule, and drive continuous improvement on its own. In the near term, FSQuality will continue to rely primarily on its China-based team for strategic deci- sion-making, R&D introduction, and the resolution of complex technical issues, as well as its mature supply chain. 'Coming to Thailand Means Playing in the World Cup' FSQuality has already invested approximately RMB 700 million in its Thailand factory and plans to in- vest another nearly RMB 300 million to introduce mSAP capabilities and AI-related products, in ad- dition to further expanding into the AI and optical module markets. Beyond the scale of investment, what deserves greater attention is the changing role of the Thailand plant. In the past, Southeast Asia was often seen as a destination for relocating relatively mature, labor- intensive manufacturing capacity from China. But amid the latest wave of PCB capacity expansion, some new factories in Thailand are being equipped from the outset with more advanced machinery to serve international customers with specific require- ments for regional supply chains. Rather than simply replicating China's existing manufacturing capacity, these factories are rebuilding high-end manufac- turing capabilities around a new customer base. Drawing on his many visits to local factories, FSQuality consultant, Mr. Qin offered a vivid analogy: "Coming to Thailand means playing in the World Cup, not competing in a regional tournament." For FSQuality, the Thailand factory's recent move into profitability represents an interim payoff from the adjustments made over the past two years, but it is by no means the end of the journey. The mSAP production line has yet to be built and ramped up; 1.6T and subsequent products must still go through sampling, qualification, and mass production; and local R&D and engineering capabilities will take time to develop. From establishing a regional foothold to targeting U.S. demand for AI-related products, from conventional multilayer PCBs to advanced mSAP processing, and from reliance on China- based teams to building local capabilities, what makes FSQuality's Thailand project worth watching, therefore, is not whether it has already produced a successful formula that others can replicate, but how the company is gradually transforming a completed overseas factory into a manufacturing operation capable of meeting the demands of high- end global customers. I-CONNECT007 Chairman Liu speaks with tech journalist Tulip Gu.