Aaron Lee, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES
This article originally appeared in DIGITIMES Thursday 4 March 2021
Taiwan-based ruggedized PC specialist Getac Technology has expressed optimism about its operations this year.
The company has seen increasing orders for ruggedized PCs particularly from carmakers and telecom operators, while its automotive component business will also benefit from demand for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) from the electrics vehicle (EV) market.
Getac is currently the second-largest ruggedized PC brand worldwide, behind only Panasonic.
Company chairman James Hwang pointed out that the company's growth in the ruggedized PC business in 2021 will be driven primarily by the recovery of the global economy when the pandemic starts to ease, and by the taking off of emerging applications such as Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, as well as the releases of Intel's new processors, which are expected to trigger replacement demand.
Hwang noted that Getac's revenue growth in 2020 was mainly contributed by procurement orders from governments, military and police, while the growth in 2021 will come from vertical businesses.
In 2020, the ruggedized PC business contributed 46% of Getac's overall revenues, while the plastic compound material and automotive component busineses together took up 51%. The remaining revenues were generated primarily by its aerospace components.
Hwang pointed out that the plastic compound material business is likely to grow another 6-10% on year in 2021 because of rising demand for notebooks. However, shortages of components including ICs and panels will be the biggest uncertainty to its performance for the year.
Getac's automotive component business saw an around 20% decline in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the company expects the business to experience a rebound in 2021. Getac is the largest seat belt spindle supplier worldwide and has been working keenly to push into ADAS components including ECU chassis, camera chassis and cooling solutions.
Hwang expects Getac's automotive component business to enjoy a 12-18% on-year revenue growth in 2021 and will see similar growths in the next 3-5 years.
Getac is also set to establish a plant in Vietnam for producing automotive components in 2021 with the site to be completed by the fourth quarter.
