Compal Electronics and its networking device-making subsidiary Arcadyan Technology are both expanding their factory sites in Vietnam where COVID-19 infections are resurging, and they have claimed no impact thus far from the local pandemic.
Hanoi, the capital at the north of the country where most tech factories are located, has gone into a 15-day lockdown. Although Compal's manufacturing facilities are only a one-hour drive away from the capital, the manufacturer said they will continue to rapid test their workers to ensure production can go on.
They said the real problem is not the pandemic but the shortage of materials, which could remain unsolved until the end of the year. With the traditional high season approaching, Compal has seen strong orders from clients. Demand in the third quarter remains solid, partly because of orders deferred from the previous quarter.
Producing notebooks, docking devices, wearables, and IoT devices in Vietnam, Compal expects to start running its new manufacturing plant in the second half of the year, which is near its existing plant.
According to industry sources, in light of the tensions between China and US, Taiwanese ODMs have accelerated plans to deploy more production capacity outside of China, such as Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Arcadyan's existing plant in Vietnam has reached over 90% in capacity utilization. Its new plant, which will be just a few kilometers away from the present site, is expected to trial run by the fourth quarter, with triple capacity compared to the existing plant. For now, limited capacity and material shortage remain the two predominant issues for Arcadyan.
