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| Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, takes a look at products at Samsung Electro-Mechanics' MLCC plant in Tianjin, China, Friday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, visited China for the first time in three years to inspect Samsung Electro-Mechanics' multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) plant at a time when demand for the key component of electric vehicles (EV) is increasing, the company said Sunday.
His visit drew particular attention as it came amid the U.S. government's intensifying efforts to curb the growth of China's chip industry by regulating semiconductor production by non-Chinese firms there.
The Korean tech giant said Lee visited the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin on Friday where Samsung Electro-Mechanics' plant is located to check how the business is performing and meet with Samsung Group employees working in the region.
The Tianjin factory, which began operations in 2021, is one of the major production bases that supply MLCCs used in IT devices and cars, along with the company's Busan factory.
An MLCC is a core component of electronic devices, controlling the stable flow of currents within electric circuits. Samsung Electro-Mechanics began developing and manufacturing MLCCs from 1988 and constructed the Tianjin factory in 2018 to meet the fast-growing demand for the products.
While the traditional internal combustion engine-powered cars used between 3,000 to 10,000 MLCCs, electric cars, which have more electronic devices, require up to 20,000 MLCCs. Samsung Electro-Mechanics produces a variety of power MLCCs used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), anti-lock brake systems (ABS) and powertrains.
Lee stressed the importance of accelerating MLCC product development for vehicles as a promising future business during his visit to Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Busan plant in 2020 and 2022.
"Samsung is trying to foster its Busan plant as an advanced research center that develops and produces core materials for MLCC and will keep operating its Tianjin plant as its major MLCC plant," the group said.
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| Lee Jae-yong, center, chairman of Samsung Electronics, inspects Samsung Electro-Mechanics' MLCC plant in Tianjin, China, Friday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
Prior to visiting the MLCC plant, Lee also had meetings with executives and employees of local Samsung Group affiliates, such as Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung SDI and encouraged their efforts to minimize the impact of supply disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past few years.
In Tianjin, Samsung Electro-Mechanics produces MLCCs and camera modules, Samsung Display makes OLED modules for smartphones and Samsung SDI manufactures battery cells for smart gadgets and EVs.
During his visit to the Chinese city, Lee also met with Chen Min'er, the city's Communist Party secretary. The meeting took place between Tianjin government officials and Samsung executives, including Chang Duck-hyun, CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Choi Joo-sun, CEO of Samsung Display.
After completing his schedule in Tianjin, Lee moved to Beijing on Saturday to attend the China Development Forum (CDF), an annual meeting where global leaders discuss the latest trends. The CDF ends Monday.
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