Kaynes Technology India Ltd. said a large global player is seeking the company's entire PCB manufacturing capacity, with trials already under way at its facility and the customer having issued a vendor code. The development comes as Kaynes prepares to start commercial production of bare printed circuit boards next quarter, giving its new PCB business early customer validation before the facility begins commercial operations.
The company said demand for PCBs has strengthened as supply-chain lead times have increased globally. Management said the customer is already conducting trials at Kaynes' factory and has approved the company as a vendor, although it did not name the customer or disclose the size or value of the potential business.
Ramesh Kunhikannan, executive vice chairman of Kaynes Technology, said during the company's first-quarter earnings call that "our entire capacity is being requested by one large player, a global player." He added that trials were taking place at the factory and that the customer had approved Kaynes and issued a vendor code.
Customer Trials
The development provides a clearer picture of customer interest in Kaynes' PCB business as the company moves towards commercial production.
Kunhikannan said the customer's trials were under way at the factory when the earnings call was held. He did not identify the company but said it was a global player.
"They have also approved and given us a vendor code for that," Kunhikannan said.
The vendor approval indicates that Kaynes has moved beyond an initial customer discussion, although the company has not disclosed whether the trials will lead to a final commercial order or when the customer will begin taking production.
Kaynes said it is seeing strong interest from global players in its PCB business at a time when the industry is facing supply constraints.
The company said PCB suppliers are demanding advance payments and that order bookings can take six to eight months. Kaynes expects its own commercial PCB production to begin from the next quarter.
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Production Starts
Kaynes has been building its PCB manufacturing business as part of its move towards higher-value electronics manufacturing. The company's investor presentation identifies Kaynes Circuits as its bare-PCB business and describes it as part of its backward-integration strategy.
On the earnings call, the management said the company was completing the final work at the facility and remained on track with its plans.
"We are on track as per our commitment," Kunhikannan said, referring to the PCB project.
The company has also said that the current supply environment is creating longer lead times for PCB customers. Management compared the situation with the earlier chip shortage and said PCB availability could become a major constraint for manufacturers.
Muthukumar Narayanaswamy, managing director of Kaynes Technology, said PCB shortages had reached a point where even order booking was becoming difficult without advance payments. He said the company expected the shortage to give greater importance to PCB manufacturing capacity.
Kaynes has committed about Rs 300 crore of capital expenditure for its PCB business in FY27, according to the earnings call. The company said it spent about Rs 230 crore across OSAT, PCB and EMS during the first quarter, with about Rs 90 crore each going towards OSAT and PCB and Rs 50 crore towards EMS.
The customer validation comes ahead of the commercial launch of the PCB facility, with Kaynes saying its entire capacity is already being sought by a global player and trials are in progress.
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