Jetway Information has shifted its focus in the small-form-factor (SFF) PC segment away from barebone system design toward production of SFF motherboards for its OEM clients, according to sources at the company. However, Jetway will continue to market its current line of MiniQ SFF systems, the sources added.
Although the company has won several industry awards for its SFF designs, Jetway believes its core competency is in production. Therefore, the company will look to work with OEM clients that specialize in chassis design, while Jetway concentrates on motherboard manufacturing.
Most of Jetway’s current OEM partners are located in Korean and Japan.
The company is probably most well known in the SFF market for its MagicTwin series, which are systems that allow two users to operate the same PC concurrently, using separate keyboards, mice and monitors. However, at the recent CeBIT show in Germany, Jetway did not even list barebone PCs as one of its products in the show’s catalogue.
The sources stated that the motherboard company has been developing more products, such as graphics cards, LCD monitors and MP3 players, that take advantage of its strength at board-level production. According to the company’s website, Jetway has a production facility located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province (China), which has a monthly capacity of 300,000 motherboards and 50,000 systems.
So far, Jetway’s strategy seems to be paying off, as the company revenues of NT$4.75 billion last year beat out its financial projection by 10%, and represented a 31% increased over 2003. The company also shipped 1.1 million motherboards and 639,000 LCD monitors last year, while having monthly shipments of 150,000-160,000 graphics cards.
In addition, Jetway is one of few Taiwan motherboard companies to be able to continue its growth into 2005, as its sales this year are up 5% over last year.