GK had the honor of visiting Via Mechanics Ltd. to speak with the company president Mr. Hideaki Shimizu. As a global leader in precision PCB drilling and cutting technology, Via Mechanics has played a pivotal role in advancing the electronics industry, enabling manufacturers worldwide to push the boundaries of innovation.
As a comprehensive manufacturer of electronics processing machines, how is the demand for leading-edge components affecting your business?
The demand for leading-edge components is where we can provide the most effective solutions in the creation of semiconductor packaging substrates, which we are committed to supplying the right products and meeting the ever-increasing requests for technological advancement.
One of the lingering impacts of the pandemic has been its effect on supply chains, which have suffered dramatic disruption internationally. The Japanese government has been looking to diversify the freight methods it uses to overcome shortcomings of the traditional Pacific-West Coast route, with ports in Canada, Mexico, and the East Coast of the USA all now being considered. Japan is also expected to see the ‘2024 problem’ cause huge disruption to domestic logistics, due to limits on the amount of overtime that truck drivers are allowed to do.
How is the disruption in logistics affecting procurement, sales, and maintenance operations for your company?
As we have built strong relationships with logistics companies, we will not have any major difficulties after fiscal 2024. However, we expect a certain level of increase in logistics costs.
Internationally speaking, Via Mechanics has already been able to gain a considerable foothold on the world market, with a network of subsidiaries establishing sales and support channels in key areas such as Taiwan and Singapore. Despite countries such as China traditionally dominating global exports of electronic components, with a 32.9% share in 2023, we have seen steady growth in new regions, such as Vietnam, over the past 5 years.
How is Via Mechanics planning to adjust its internationalization strategy in response to changing export trends?
In supporting the evolution of packaging technology in China, we will continue to provide optimal solutions. Additionally, we will do our best to follow up other regions in response to changes in the supply chains of our customers.
Via Mechanics can provide the world’s top state‐of‐the‐art processing technology to any market in the world, which no other company can. Japanese companies have overwhelmingly strong technological capabilities for high-end semiconductor packaging substrates, which we have been providing sufficient solutions to such customers.
Recently, in the mechanical drilling machines, we have been manufacturing and selling 12-axis machines, in the laser drilling machines, we have been enhancing the productivity of CO2 laser drilling machines, and starting to sell new UV laser drilling machines equipped with a ps-second laser oscillator. Both offer processing technology that is unrivaled by competitors.
