PCB supplier Unitech Printed Circuit Board expects its HDI board capacity utilization to rise from 85-88% in the third quarter of 2010 to 95% in the fourth, buoyed by strong demand from the smartphone sector, according to company president Hsu Cheng-hung.

Orders for HDI PCBs, especially any-layer HDI boards, started to rise in the third quarter, said Hsu. In the third quarter, Unitech's sales generated from its PCB unit grew 21% sequentially. Hsu expects the revenues for the fourth quarter to increase by more than 10% compared with the third quarter.

In light of rising demand for HDI boards, Unitech will add another six to seven laser drills at the end of 2010, Hsu indicated. Unitech's new plant in Yilan, northeastern Taiwan, is also expected come online in the first quarter 2011, Hsu added.

In addition, Hsu revealed that Unitech's solar cell unit, Unitech Solar, is set to expand its annual capacity to 90-100MWp later in the fourth quarter, up from 30MWp at present. The production line is currently running at full capacity. Hsu noted the company has seen monthly sales generated from Unitech Solar top NT$130 million, and the level is expected to increase significantly in 2011.