Businessweek

TTM Technologies, Inc. provides printed circuit board (PCB) products and backplane assemblies worldwide. Segments The company manages its operations based on two geographic operating segments, North America, which consists of seven domestic PCB fabrication plants, including a facility that provides follow-on value-added services primarily for one of the PCB fabrication plants, and one backplane assembly plant in Shanghai, China, which is managed in conjunction with its U.S. operations, and its related European sales support infrastructure; and Asia Pacific, which consists of the PCB subsidiaries and their seven PCB fabrication plants, which include a substrate facility. Strategy The company’s strategy is to emphasize advanced technological capabilities and manufacturing processes; focus on early stages of product life cycle; pursue new customers in higher growth end markets; capitalizing on its presence in china; maintain its customer-driven culture; market its facility specialization and one-stop manufacturing solution; and provide support for aerospace/defense customers. Products and Services The company offers a range of PCB products, including conventional PCBs, high density interconnect (HDI) PCBs, flexible PCBs, rigid-flex PCBs, backplane assemblies, and IC substrates. It also offers various value-added services to support its customers’ needs. These include design for manufacturability support during new product introduction stages, PCB layout design, simulation and testing services, quick turnaround production, and drilling and routing services. Conventional PCBs A PCB is a board containing a pattern of conducting material, such as copper, which becomes an electrical circuit when electrical components are attached to it. It is the basic platform used to interconnect electronic components and could be found in various electronic products, including computers and computer peripherals, communications equipment, cellular phones, consumer electronics, automotive components, and medical and industrial equipment. Conventional PCBs could be classified as single-sided, double-sided, and multi-layer boards. HDI PCBs The company’s North America and Asia Pacific segments produce HDI PCBs, which are PCBs with higher interconnect density per unit area, and require technology and manufacturing processes for their production than conventional PCB products. Flexible PCBs Flexible PCBs are printed circuits produced on a flexible laminate, allowing it to be folded or bent to fit the available space or allow relative movement. The company manufactures circuits on flexible substrates that could be installed in three-dimensional applications for electronic packaging systems. Flexible PCBs could provide flexible electronic connectivity of an electrical device’s apparatus, such as printer heads, cameras, camcorders, TVs, mobile handsets, and touch screen tablets. Rigid-flex PCBs Rigid-flex circuitry provides a means to integrate multiple PCB assemblies and other elements, such as display, input, or storage devices without wires, cables, or connectors, replacing them with thin, light composites that integrate wiring in flexible ribbons between sections. In rigid-flex packaging, a flexible circuit substrate provides a backbone of wiring with rigid multilayer circuit sections built up as modules where needed. Rigid-flex technology is essential to a range of applications, including aerospace, industrial, and transportation systems requiring hand-held and wearable electronics, such as mobile phones, video cameras, and music players where thinness and mechanical articulation are essential; and ultra-miniaturized products, such as headsets, medical implants, and semiconductor packaging. Backplane Assemblies A backplane is an interconnecting device that has circuitry and sockets into which PCBs or other additional electronic devices could be plugged. The company could assemble backplanes and sub-systems, and provides system integration of backplane assemblies, cabling, power, thermal, and other electromechanical parts into chassis and other enclosures. In addition to assembly services, it provid