Walsin Technology has resumed resistor production at its Malaysia plant, which had been shut down temporarily to facilitate coronavirus-related inspections, according to the passive component maker.
Walsin suspended its Malaysia resistor fab in late November after some employess there were infected with Covid-19. But healthy workers have gradually returned to production lines upon government approval as no further cases have been found following thorough inspections, the company said.
Walsin said the short production suspension did not pose any significant impact on its overall business operations, as it managed to use part of inventory to fulfill shipments without having to rely on capacity support from its production bases in other regions.
Walsin currently maintains its overall capacity utilization for resistors and MLCCs at 90% with inventory for less than 45 days, due to strong demand for notebooks and gaming machines supporting stay-at-home economy and gradual pickup in demand for handset and automotive applications, according to industry sources.
Labor shortage in Southeast Asia, where the pandemic still lingers, is a major challenge for passive components makers with manufacturing operations in the region. Resistor maker Ralec, an affiliate of Chilisin Electronics, has been unable to recruit sufficient workers for its plant in Malaysia from neighboring countries due to strict border control amid the pandemic, the sources said, adding that Chilisin’s resistor production lines in China’s Kunshan and Hunan are now operating at capacity utilization of only 60%.
The sources said Chilisin has seen clear resistor order visibility for over three months, but low inventory levels and failure to boost utilization rates amid recruitment difficulties have forced the company to extend delivery lead time.