Shenmao ushers in new manufacturing era with solder innovations
Much like how its products fuse components together to make functional, reliable products that are built to last, solder materials specialist Shenmao Group has been instrumental in building and holding together various industries - from automotive to consumer electronics.
Initially supplying solder paste, solder bars and cored solder bars to the semiconductor sector, Shenmao has matured alongside the industries and technologies it works with. It has become one of the pioneers in the manufacturing of tin-lead and bumping solder pastes, decorating ink for semiconductor packaging use and photovoltaic ribbons essential to the flourishing solar industry.
"Shenmao is an important solder material manufacturer in Asia and has a large worldwide market share," says chairman Lee San-lien. "More than our market position, however, we take pride in having earned the trust and confidence of some of the world's industry leaders."
Shenmao's clients include the world's two biggest integrated circuit manufacturers based in Taiwan and global leaders in electronics manufacturing services.
With a 70 per cent market share in the notebook manufacturing sector, Shenmao supplies to leading Taiwanese and global brands. It also caters to the telecoms, hard drives, servers and other electronics segments. In the automotive sector, it serves Germany's leading parts maker among many other original equipment manufacturers.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Shenmao is creating another milestone as it intensifies its research and development (R&D) initiatives and expands its manufacturing capabilities.
"R&D is everything in a fast-paced industry such as ours. Keep up with technology - or be kicked out of the market fast," Lee says. "Shenmao focuses on R&D to help our customers, in turn, become the best manufacturers and service providers in their respective fields."
R&D for the forward-looking company also means always being at the forefront of innovation. Shenmao prides itself on investing in a 40-member R&D team and a genuine relationship with customers who know best when it comes to product trends.
One trend that Shenmao aims to lead - and not follow - is nanotechnology. As electronic components, modules and assemblies are becoming smaller yet more functional, the company is developing "nano-powder" solder materials that match the components' requirements.
The demand for lead-free and halogen-free manufacturing is another trend that Shenmao forecasts will change how entire industries work in the next few years. This is expected to have a particularly strong impact on the automotive sector, as major markets such as Europe switch to strictly environment-friendly processes beginning in 2016.
Believing that great products should be complemented by superior speed-to-market, cost efficiency and localised services, Shenmao is also reinforcing its global reach with closer proximity and accessibility to its key markets.
Earlier this year, Shenmao opened a factory in Chongqing following new factories in Brazil and India, where the surface-mount technology business is taking off. It has also opened a sales office in Japan, adding to its already extensive network, including headquarters in Taiwan, and factories in Dongguan, Suzhou, Malaysia, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Germany and the United States, along with other subsidiaries and joint ventures worldwide.
Targeting to surpass its achievements in Taiwan and abroad, Shenmao plans to expand its presence in the automotive and solar energy industries and in emerging markets including Malaysia and Indonesia. It also seeks more mutually beneficial partnerships overseas, particularly with local distributors and semiconductor companies with whom it looks forward to developing enhanced products and improved services.
"Shenmao is set to usher in the new era of manufacturing," Lee says. "We will continue investing in world-class R&D and efficient yet environment-friendly manufacturing processes that will reduce costs and delivery time, while raising in-process yields for our growing customers globally."
Shenmao Group
www.shenmao.com