Electronic transformers and inductors are one of the important components of electronic equipment and are widely used in digital cameras, digital TVs, notebook computers, automotive electronics and other fields. Their performance and level directly affect the quality of electronic equipment. Since the beginning of this year, the rise in raw material prices has seriously threatened the development of the transformer industry. According to industry insiders, if domestic transformer companies do not adjust their market strategies in a timely manner, increase new product development efforts, and strive to reduce costs, it will be difficult for some companies to pass this hurdle.

The rise of raw materials threatens the survival of transformer enterprises

At present, China's electronics manufacturing industry, especially component companies, is facing the pressure of rising raw material prices, and the electronic transformer industry is no exception.

Jiang Deqing, secretary general of the Electronic Transformer Technology Department of the Components Branch of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, told reporters that taking the price of copper as an example, at the end of 2004, its price was US$3,000/ton, and by May 2006, the international copper price had soared to At $8,800 per ton, compared with the price at the beginning of the year four or five months ago, it has risen by more than $4,000 per ton, which is a double price increase. The enameled wire with copper as the main raw material is an indispensable upstream product of electronic transformers and inductors. The enameled wire accounts for more than 1/3 of the total cost of electronic transformers and inductors. In addition, as we all know, the RoHS directive came into effect on July 1, 2006, and the use of 6 non-environmentally friendly substances is strictly prohibited, which will also increase the prices of paints and solders that must be used in electronic transformers and inductors by more than 5%. If coupled with the process equipment that must be added or modified to implement the RoHS directive, the cost of electronic transformers/inductors will increase significantly. The cost of products brought about by such factors as the increase in the price of raw materials will increase significantly.

Industry experts analyzed that the increase in demand caused by economic growth is a long-term factor leading to the rise of copper prices. In the short term, energy prices, environmental protection and other issues restrict the expansion of smelting capacity. Therefore, the spot supply of copper is still relatively tight.

Cao Junpo, secretary general of the Electronic Transformer Branch of China Electronic Components Industry Association, said that electronic transformers are labor-intensive industries. Materials account for a large proportion of product costs, and profits are not very large. The rise of raw materials makes the already meager profits even less. . Therefore, how to resolve the pressure of raw material price increases has become an urgent problem for electronic transformer companies.

Zhao Zongchang, general manager of Beijing Sanlian Transformer Co., Ltd., in an interview with a reporter from China Electronics News, repeatedly said that at present, they do not have any great strategies to deal with the pressure of rising raw material prices, and the only way is to reduce their own profits. He said that in the situation of soaring raw materials, the manufacturers that can sustain are the winners. He told reporters that the price advantage of Chinese electronic transformer enterprises has been completely lost due to the increase in raw material prices. In addition, the continuation of the price war among domestic enterprises, the survival situation of domestic transformer enterprises can be imagined.

The use of alternative materials to develop new products has become a means of cracking

Under the influence of rising raw material prices, the profit level of electronic transformer and inductor manufacturers will further decline, which will also prompt further optimization and integration of the transformer industry: through integration, on the one hand, it will make it difficult for some small-scale production enterprises with insufficient funds to On the other hand, it will also provide a broader market space for enterprises with strong financial strength, high product quality and strong R&D strength.

During the interview, many industry insiders said that to get rid of the current predicament, electronic transformer companies should take the initiative to find high value-added products that the market needs. In addition, it is also a good way to replace copper with other materials.

Cao Junpo told reporters that as a new technology, piezoelectric ceramic transformers are worth promoting in the industry. It uses much less metal than traditional transformers. The price increase has little effect on piezoelectric ceramic transformers. A brand new product requires a lot of investment to involve the update of equipment and processes. Therefore, to transform the piezoelectric ceramic transformer from research and development to production, it requires a lot of capital, which is currently very lacking in the electronic transformer industry.

Xu Lifu, chief engineer of Beijing Greville Electronics Co., Ltd., said that domestic electronic transformer and inductor manufacturers, in order to achieve continuous development under the current market conditions, must integrate their business philosophy with international standards and form a certain scale. It adopts certain advanced production equipment and means, pays attention to product quality, closely integrates with market demand, strengthens technology development capabilities, and enables new products to develop synchronously with market demand.

Guo Yifu, deputy general manager of Foshan Nanhai Pingzhou Electronics Factory Co., Ltd., said that in order to get rid of the dilemma caused by the current increase in raw material prices, inductance manufacturers must master the technical trends of the industry and keep up with the development, research and production trends of active components. Can follow and meet the technical characteristics required by the development of active components. Therefore, inductance manufacturers must continuously improve their design and development capabilities, so that they can participate in the product development stage of downstream customers, and achieve simultaneous design and development with customers. It is necessary to have complete product development hardware requirements, especially evaluation methods and management methods for product reliability. Only in this way can we ensure that the product quality meets the needs of customers, and can we have the conditions to compete with excellent enterprises.

In fact, replacing copper with aluminum or other resource-rich metals is also a good way to deal with rising raw material prices. Huang Zhuxiang, general manager of Shanghai Shuangdeng Lighting Electric Co., Ltd., said that my country is rich in aluminum ore resources, with a reserve of 2.273 billion tons, ranking fourth in the world. Therefore, from the perspective of resource use, "aluminum instead of copper" is the most important factor for transformers. The development of the industry has new explorations of practical significance. At present, some industries have implemented the practice of "substituting aluminum for copper", and the transformer industry should also try a similar approach. Fortunately, some manufacturers in the industry are currently exploring "substituting aluminum for copper". path of.