Nan Ya Plastics Corp., a subsidiary of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), has recently decided to make an additional investment of USD 16.5 million in FPG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) Co. of mainland China, i…
Nan Ya Plastics Corp., a subsidiary of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), has recently decided to make an additional investment of USD 16.5 million in FPG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) Co. of mainland China, in a bid to build the world“s largest electronic-class fiberglass yarn furnace with an annual output of between 40,000 metric tons and 50,000 metric tons. PFG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) is a joint venture between FPG and the US-based PPG Industries Co. Wang Wen-yuan, chairman of FPG“s Formosa Plastics Corp., recently said his group will continuously increase investments in the electronics industry to seek another engine for growth. Nan Ya spokesperson Wu Chia-chao said the company is confident of developing the PCB industry and has decided to increase investments in mainland-based PFG Fiber Glass (Kunshan). Of the increased investments of USD 16.5 million, USD 12.5 million will come from Nan Ya“s accumulated earnings and the remaining USD 4 million will be raised from a third-party firm overseas. PFG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) was set up at Kunshan in Jiangsu Province, mainland China in 2004. Total investments in PFG Fiber Glass (Kunshan) have reached USD 100 million. At that time, the Kunshan plant was designed to have an annual output of 40,000 metric tons of electronic-class fiberglass yarns. Nan Ya said it posted TWD 52 billion (USD 1.57 billion) in after-tax earnings, or TWD 6 (USD 0.18) per share, in 2006. The electronics sales contributed 66% of the company“s overall earnings for the year. With the setting up of an electronic material zone in Kunshan, Nan Ya has consolidated its position as the world“s leading supplier of PCB (printed circuit board) upstream materials. In addition to the increased investments in fiberglass yarns, the company is also expanding production of downstream products such as epoxy and fiberglass fabrics. Over the years, Nan Ya has successfully established an integrated production system for the PCB industry through the ownership of production facilities for PCB, epoxy, copper clad laminate, fiberglass fabric, and fiberglass yarn.