Getac to increase shipments of fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings for ultrabooks in 2Q12

Taiwan-based Getac Technology will increase shipments of fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings for ultraboks in second-quarter 2012, according to industry sources.

In order to decrease production costs to lower ultrabook retail prices, vendors have adopted fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings in place of expensive aluminum-alloy unibody casings, the sources indicated.

Although aluminum-alloy unibody casings are slightly better than fiberglass reinforced plastic models in hardness and looks, they cost much more, the sources said. In addition, three main makers of aluminum-alloy casings, Catcher Technology, Foxconn Technology and Ri-Teng Computer Accessory (Shanghai), have had most of their capacities booked up for Apple products, the sources indicated.

Getac's subsidiary Mitac Precision Technology, since the fourth quarter of 2011, has received much more than expected orders for molds of fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings from almost all international notebook vendors, except Apple and Samsung Electronics, the sources noted.

Notebook makers Compal Electronics and Wistron have stepped into production of fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings for ultrabooks through joint ventures with metal casing maker Ju Teng International Holdings, the sources said.

As much as 90% of ultrabooks to be shipped in 2012 and 2013 will come in fiberglass-reinforced plastic casings, the sources cited notebook makers as indicating.

Source : digitimes

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