SFA increases equipment orders for chips and batteries 

South Korean equipment maker SFA has increased its orders from areas besides its main display business.

SFA said its display business accounted only for 34.9% of its remaining orders as of the first quarter.

Orders for battery production equipment accounted for 28.6%. In total, orders related to non-display areas accounted for 65.1% of its orders.

This is the first time that non-display orders accounted for over half of its total orders.

A SFA spokesperson said the firm has been working hard to expand its equipment business for semiconductors and batteries.

The company said it worked to diversify its customers, which led to increased sales activity.

The firm is pushing overhead transport for chip production. SFA said it has applied smart factory technology on the equipment to differentiate itself.

In batteries, the company is pushing inspection kits such as 3D CT. These will have synergy with other equipment used in battery production for processes such as notching, stacking, tab welding, packaging and degassing.

Sales from display equipment accounted for 87% of the total in 2017. This has decreased to 69.9% in 2018. In 2019 it was 73.2%, which dropped to 62.8% to 2020.

SFA recorded 355.6 billion won in sales and 65.1 billion won in operating income in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 3.3% and drop of 5.8%, respectively, from a year prior.