image credit: Bamboo Works
Key Takeaways:
Measured by 2024 revenue, Circuit Fabology held a 15% share of the global market for direct-imaging equipment used to make printed circuit boards (PCBs)
Its turnover jumped nearly 48% last year and net profit surged 80% amid rising demand for specialized semiconductor lithography
Using intense lasers or particle beams, these machines carve intricate patterns that form the basis of modern electronics and enable the fast evolution of AI.
Spurred by rising demand for imaging tools, one of China's leading makers of lithography equipment for the semiconductor industry is seeking to list on the Hong Kong stock market, bringing international ambitions and an interesting back story.
In China's semiconductor equipment industry, founders typically come from technical backgrounds. But Circuit Fabology Microelectronics Equipment Co. Ltd. (688630.SH) was set up by a former accountant turned entrepreneur, who came into the lithography business by chance.
Cheng Zhuo began her career as an accountant at an Anhui machinery factory after graduating from a vocational school. When the factory shut down in the 1990s, she entered the auction business and later moved into bulk commodity trading.
In 2013, she was asked to participate in the debt restructuring of lithography equipment maker Hefei Advantools Semiconductor. Although the restructuring failed, the company's technology and its engineering team became the foundation for Cheng to establish Circuit Fabology in 2015.
Essential tools
Circuit Fabology focused on developing and manufacturing equipment for high-precision lithography. These direct-imaging tools are used to make printed circuit boards (PCB), substrates for integrated circuits and advanced packaging platforms for microchips.
Direct-writing lithography uses computer-controlled light beams to trace complex circuit patterns, eliminating the need for photomask templates. The resolution is typically measured in microns, rather ...
