APPENDIX B. HONG KONG SITE REPORTS (MARCH 1996 VISITS)

Site:

Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)
HKPC Building, 78 Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2788-5678; Fax: (852) 2788-5900; e-mail: www.hkpc.org

Participants:

Thomas Chow, Advanced Manufacturing Technology Manager, Electronics Services Division
Dr. Stephen Cheung, General Manager, Electronics Services Division
Charles E. Chapman, Executive Director, Hong Kong Electronics Industry Association
Mr. S. L. Law, Advisor, Senior Principal Consultant, Electronics Division

Mission and Strategy

HKPC is a multidisciplinary organization established by statute in 1967 to promote increased productivity and efficient production methods in Hong Kong's business sector. HKPC provides consultation, training, product development, and technology transfer services to strengthen human resources and enterprise technologies. It provides a wide range of services and training to over 4,000 companies per year.

Key Elements of Presentation

• Helping Hong Kong companies make a transition from labor-intensive to high-value-added production. Major emphasis is on identifying product and process technologies that need to be transferred to HK.
• Some major projects on technology transfer are funded by the Industry Technology Development Council.
• In the electronics area, it has about 45 people, about 35 of whom are engineers. Products developed via consortia include pager, palm top computer, and cordless/cellular phones.

Key Elements of Tour

• Facilities include auto-mold software and hardware for parts prototyping. CAD is used with surface tracing to input 3-D digital information.
• RF design unit has engineers developing cordless phones.
• SMT lab proves design concepts for PCB assembly and allows low-volume prototyping.
• New TAB equipment demonstrates outer lead bonding for TCP on LCD.
• HKPC has a 4-day turnaround calibration laboratory and a strong reliability laboratory with the SEM for bare PCB and semiconductors, high/low temperature and humidity chambers, random vibration system and micro-sectioning capabilities. A new EMC chamber is now under construction at the ground floor.

Core Competencies

• Excellent new facilities and location have been funded by the government. A new flying probe bare PCB tester was installed in the SMT laboratory.
• Large theater, training facilities supported with consulting services and labs and engineers open to industry.
• About 280 staff cover disciplines like electronics, mechanical, software, and textiles.
• Publications are available to membership on training and technology issues.

Conclusions

• Some HKPC projects are supported by ITDC to move local companies into higher-value-added businesses.
• HKPC, along with Hong Kong Electronics Industries Association and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is developing a technology roadmap for packaging to provide direction for future efforts.
• HKPC focuses on product and process developments needed to keep local firms competitive.