Issue



Growing demand for optical, automotive and medical products spurs Fabrinet expansion


02/01/2007







Fabrinet, provider of manufacturing services for complex optical components, recently announced that its third and latest factory, completed in Nov 2005, is near capacity. The company plans to build a fourth factory in its Pinehurst campus manufacturing complex near Bangkok, Thailand. A ground-breaking ceremony was held last month.


With its latest facility near capacity, Fabrinet plans to build a fourth factory in its Pinehurst campus manufacturing complex near Bangkok, Thailand. Photo courtesy of Fabrinet.
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The company expects its new 300,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the fast-growing demand for its optical components, module manufacturing and system assembly services. Anticipated growth in capital equipment, automotive and medical markets is also a factor. The facility is scheduled for completion in late 2007.

The new factory’s numerous assembly lines can be customized to support Class 100,000 to Class 100 cleanrooms for high-precision optoelectronic manufacturing, and sophisticated “dry rooms” to meet the ultralow-humidity requirements of medical devices. Additionally, the factory will accommodate Fabrinet’s unique, customer-specific “factory within a factory” operations, ensuring complete IP security and exact adherence to each customer’s desired manufacturing processes.

According to Tom Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Fabrinet, “The new building reflects the continued investment we’re making in Thailand, which we believe continues to offer a compelling manufacturing value proposition for complex high-mix, low- to medium-volume products.”