Taiwanese connector manufacturer Ant Precision has been gradually transiting its business model towards automotive connector and industrial products, due to impact from easing notebook demand market, according to a report by Money DJ. The company has developed connectors for LED products for several years, and will be supplying connectors for IKEA residential LED lights. Ant Precision’s LED connectors were approved this month by IKEA, and will be entering mass production phase in 2Q14 by 2015.
As of first half of September, Ant Precision’s revenue dropped 33.4% to NT $513 million (US $16.88 million), mainly due to decreased notebook orders that led to low gross profits. Despite the sliding notebook revenue, gross margin were maintained at relatively high levels of 22.3%, which indicates the company’s transformation has been successful, since overall profit margin was not impacted by decreasing notebook revenue, stated the company.
Aside from becoming a LED connector supplier for IKEA, the company has shipped LED products to top five smart LED streetlight systems in North America. Smart LED streetlights applications will be expanded to replace traditional lights.
Ant Precision has been focused on developing automotive wire harness and industrial connectors and has entered car brands including Benz, BMW, Ford and Renault’s automotive audio and video transmission cable market. In the industrial market applications, Ant Precision has also entered Japanese manufacturer Panasonic’s servo motor system.