Visit to Samsung Electro-Mechanics Plant in the Philippines
Focused Inspection of MLCC Production Base
Blue Ocean of Demand in Electric Vehicle Market
Plan to Lead Automotive Electronics Business
Fostering as Future Growth Engine
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong revisited Samsung Electro-Mechanics' multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) plant and reinforced support for the automotive electronic components business, which is being highlighted as Samsung's future growth engine.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong inspecting the MLCC product production site at Samsung Electro-Mechanics Philippines Corporation (SEMPHIL) located in Calamba City, Laguna Province, Philippines on the 6th. Photo by Samsung Electronics
According to Samsung Electronics on the 7th, Chairman Lee visited Samsung Electro-Mechanics' production subsidiary located in Calamba, Philippines, the day before to check the status of the MLCC business and emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities. This visit to Samsung Electro-Mechanics' production site was his first in four months since visiting the Suwon plant in June, and his first overseas site inspection in one year and seven months since his business trip to Tianjin, China, in March last year.
During this trip to the Philippines, Chairman Lee discussed future business strategies with Samsung Electro-Mechanics' management and personally toured the MLCC factory to review production status. He urged employees to seize opportunities arising from the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the electric vehicle market. Afterwards, he held a meeting with the employees of the Calamba production subsidiary, encouraging their hard work and listening to their difficulties.
Chairman Lee has been continuously visiting Samsung Electro-Mechanics' business sites recently to accelerate efforts so that the company can secure a leading position in the high value-added MLCC market. MLCC is a key component that stores electricity and supplies it stably as needed, helping semiconductors operate smoothly. It is essential for various electronic devices such as smartphones and electric vehicles. For this reason, MLCC is also called the "rice of the electronics industry." In particular, if the current flowing through semiconductor circuits is unstable, electronic products may malfunction or break down, and MLCC plays a role in regulating and supplying current stably.
The industry expects the MLCC market to grow more than twice from 4 trillion won last year to 9.5 trillion won by 2028. Above all, the electric vehicle market is attracting attention as a "blue ocean" with high demand for MLCC. While about 1,000 IT MLCCs are installed in smartphones, electric vehicles contain 3,000 to up to 20,000 automotive MLCCs. The price of automotive MLCCs is also more than three times higher.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Samsung Electro-Mechanics Philippines Corporation (SEMPHIL) located in Calamba City, Laguna Province, Philippines, on the 6th and took commemorative photos with local employees. Photo by Samsung Electronics
Chairman Lee has consistently ordered Samsung Electro-Mechanics to actively respond to the automotive MLCC market, focusing on the increase in MLCC demand and profitability. In 2020 and 2022, he visited Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan plant and requested proactive measures to secure future markets such as automotive MLCCs. During his 2020 visit to Busan, he emphasized, "The pace of change is accelerating. Let's lead innovation at the forefront," and added, "We must not be complacent or afraid of change. Do not be intimidated by uncertainty and keep challenging continuously." Following this message, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is intensively fostering the automotive MLCC business as a future growth engine.
The Calamba production subsidiary in the Philippines was established in 1997, earlier than Tianjin, and has been producing IT MLCCs and inductors since 2000. Recently, with the rapid growth of the electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle markets, additional production of high-performance automotive MLCCs is also being considered. In 2012, the second MLCC plant was completed, and in 2015, 288 billion won was invested to further expand production lines, growing alongside the Busan and Tianjin production subsidiaries into key production bases. Samsung plans to develop Busan as an advanced MLCC specialized region leading core material research and production for MLCCs, while operating China and the Philippines as global key supply bases for IT and automotive MLCCs.
Chairman Lee is concretizing plans to lead the automotive electronic components business by leveraging MLCCs produced by Samsung Electro-Mechanics. As part of this plan, Samsung acquired Harman in 2016, which was the world leader in digital instrument clusters and car audio. Chairman Lee has also met with global automotive industry leaders such as Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; Oliver Zipse, Chairman of BMW; and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, to spearhead strengthening competitiveness in the automotive electronics business. Last year, he also met CEO Musk to discuss comprehensive cooperation plans including automotive semiconductors.
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