The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS HONG KONG
©THE JAPAN TIMES	Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Aiming for a place at the top

One of Hong Kong's most successful manufacturers does not have production facilities in the SAR, and buyers of electronic consumer goods are not likely to find its brand a familiar name. Yet, Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) Limited (SMT) is an industry leader to be reckoned with. Involved mainly in mounting electronic components onto printed circuit boards, the company aims to become one of Asia's Top Five EMS (electronics manufacturing service) providers by 2005 and one of the world's Top Ten EMS providers by 2010. SMT currently manufactures in Dongguan in the Pearl River Delta. It is also building a new factory in Suzhou near Shanghai. Its products are found in everything from Floppy Disk drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD

Dr. Chan Kei Blu, chairman of Surface Mount Technology

-RW Drives to telecommunications components and industrial products, supplying major companies such as Sony, Samsung, LG, Daikin, Clarion and Konica In fact, Japanese companies are SMT's major market. As Japanese outsourcing continues to grow due to high capital and maintenance costs at home, dynamic EMS companies like SMT foresee a growing opportunity to provide their services to these companies.

WER recently met with SMT's chairman, Dr Chan Kei Biu, and talked to him about the company's goals and its strategy for success.

WER: Around sixty-six percent of SMT's turnover last year came from Japan. What has given SMT the edge over other EMS providers in the Japanese market?

Dr Chan: Our top management has fostered more than 20 years of connections and a continuous business relationships with the Japanese. We understand their business culture well and have built up a relationship of mutual trust with our clients there. Furthermore, our quality and service levels not only meet their expectations, but even exceed the requirements of some Japanese companies.

WER: How do you keep ahead of the trends in such a fast-paced industry? What are some of the new technological developments you have been working on?

Dr Chan: We have an Engineering Department and a Manufacturing Technology Department that conduct research on new manufacturing technologies such as flip-chip bonding, radio frequency technology up to 10 GHz, etc.

Another new technology we have developed and are already applying in our production process is lead-free soldering technology. All this puts us ahead of the market curve.

WER: What are the implications of China's entry to the World Trade Organization on SMT?

Dr Chan: The pros are the reduction of tariff, more companies investing in China (meaning more business opportunities for us), and an improvement in the country's legal, tax and business systems that will connect China better to the rest of the business world. The cons would be increased competition from foreign companies and local Chinese companies.

WER: When you look back at your years with the company, what stands out as your greatest achievement? What are your long-term goals for the future?

Dr Chan: Our greatest achievement has been building up a fast-growing company with a devoted group of people who have together forged the company on the path to becoming a world class corporation. We aim to be among the top five in Asia by 2005 and the top 10 worldwide by 2010.

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