Samsung Electronics aims for early lead in multilayer ceramic capacitor market

Samsung Electronics' Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong stressed the need to take an early lead in the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) market at the company's manufacturing facilities in Philippines on Sunday.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, second from left, inspects manufacturing facilities of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) located in Calamba in the Philippines on Sunday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics' Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong stressed the need to take an early lead in the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) market at the company's manufacturing facilities in the Philippines on Sunday.

Lee paid a visit to the Samsung Electro-Mechanics' MLCC plant in Calamba in the Philippines on Sunday to discuss its future business and toured the manufacturing facilities.

"We must make active moves to pre-emptively secure opportunities that derive from the expansion of AI, robots and EV markets," Lee was quoted as saying to the executives of the component-making affiliate.

Lee has recently made frequent visits to Samsung Electro-Mechanics' business sites in Busan; Tianjin, China; and Suwon, underscoring the importance of MLCCs.

In 2020, Lee visited the affiliate's Busan operation and said "don't be intimidated by uncertainties but keep challenging," acknowledging the accelerating speed of change in the industry.

MLCCs are components that manage a constant, stable current in the electronic circuits widely used in smartphones, PCs and IT devices. They are often identified as the "dam" in IT devices, ensuring a stable flow of electricity by storing and supplying it depending on the device's needs.

Their value has especially grown as traditional industries embrace digital components, with autonomous and electric vehicles being the representative case.

The number of MLCCs required in a single EV total around 20,000, while those used in smartphones stop at 1,000, according to industry data.

The production facilities Lee visited in the Philippines were established in 1997 and started manufacturing IT MLCCs from 2000. The company built the second plant in 2012 and poured 288 billion won ($213.8 million) into it in 2015 to add more production lines.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan operation focuses on MLCC R&D, while the facilities in China and the Philippines focus on production.

The electronic component affiliate, of which Samsung Electronics owns 23.7 percent, pledged to reach 1 trillion won in revenue for its EV MLCC area.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]