[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] MKElectron(033160), a company specializing in semiconductor packaging materials, is accelerating its business expansion in China, riding the wave of increased investment in advanced packaging within the Chinese semiconductor industry. MKElectron plans to proactively address the surging local demand by beginning to expand the production capacity (Capa) of plated wire, a key product of its Chinese subsidiary.

As artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) emerge as key topics in the global semiconductor market, technological competition is expanding beyond advanced process technologies into the back-end packaging sector. With the introduction of advanced packaging technologies—such as chiplets, which connect multiple chips within a single package, as well as 2.5D and 3D packaging—core materials like bonding wires and solder balls are now required to meet higher standards for bonding reliability and stricter quality criteria.
Amid this trend, as the Chinese government is aggressively pursuing the localization of semiconductor supply chains and investing heavily in advanced packaging to counter export controls imposed by the U.S. and others, MKElectron—which established a production base in China early on—is cited as a prime beneficiary. According to market research firm TrendForce, between May and July of this year alone, approximately 10 major packaging projects were announced in China, with disclosed investment totaling 40 billion yuan (approximately 7.5 trillion Hanwha KRW).
MKElectron is accelerating its growth by capitalizing on this expanding demand for local procurement. The company laid the groundwork for its expansion into the Chinese market by opening a Shanghai office in 2008 and establishing its own production plant in Kunshan in 2018. Currently, its Chinese subsidiary is steadily supplying bonding wires and solder balls to major semiconductor outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) companies.
In fact, MKElectron’s Chinese subsidiary posted robust growth in the second quarter of this year, with revenue increasing by approximately 15% compared to the previous quarter. Driven by rising capacity utilization rates and increased order volumes from local OSAT customers, the Chinese subsidiary has firmly established itself as more than just a production base—it has become a core revenue source and growth engine for MKElectron.
In particular, MKElectron plans to significantly expand its business scale by actively leveraging its production capabilities in the plated wire sector and its local sales network. Plated wire is a product in which a specific metal is plated onto the wire’s surface to maximize electrical and mechanical properties as well as bonding reliability; demand for it is steadily increasing among Chinese customers seeking to simultaneously reduce costs and improve performance.
This year, the supply volume of plated wire from MKElectron’s Chinese subsidiary is estimated to increase by approximately 43% compared to the previous year. Accordingly, MKElectron has begun full-scale expansion of its plated wire production capacity to ensure a seamless response to the growing demand. Through phased expansion, the company plans to increase production capacity by approximately 50% compared to this year by the first half of next year.
The company explains that this expansion is significant not merely as a response to market forecasts, but as a practical measure to build the infrastructure needed to fulfill already confirmed customer orders. MKElectron aims to strengthen its dominance in the local semiconductor materials market by enhancing production efficiency and improving product competitiveness.
An MKElectron official stated, “As the number of plated wire customers and supply volumes in the Chinese market continue to grow, this year’s volume is also increasing significantly compared to last year,” adding, “We have begun expanding production capacity to meet rising customer demand and plan to increase capacity by approximately 50% compared to this year by the first half of next year.”
The official continued, “As the AI and high-performance semiconductor markets grow, the importance of packaging and materials technology is also increasing in China,” and added, “Based on the plating wire production competitiveness and customer response capabilities accumulated by our Chinese subsidiary, we will continue to expand our presence in the Chinese semiconductor materials market.”