Compal Aims to Stay Atop Global Notebook PC Industry in 2010

Compal Electronics Inc shipped 37.8 million notebook PCs to outstrip Quanta Computer Inc`s shipment of 35.9 million units as the world`s largest notebook PC maker in 2009. According to the firm, it ambitiously aims to further push up the figure to 50 million units to keep its leading position in the line in 2010.

Snapping up Acer`s contract orders for netbook PCs originally placed with Quanta last year, Compal has succeeded in outpacing the Taiwanese counterpart in terms of shipment volume and unseating Wistron Corp, the world`s third-largest notebook PC supplier, as the largest contract supplier for Acer in the year.

Aided by Acer`s order for its newest Calpella platform-based notebook PCs, slated to be launched in the first quarter of this year, as well as strong consumer demand during the Chinese New Year sales season, Compal`s shipment is estimated at 4.5 million units in the first quarter, down only 5 percent from a peak in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Noteworthy is that Acer, after taking over Dell`s second place in the global market for branded notebook PCs, is also planning to challenge HP`s leading position and is projected by institutional investors to attain annual shipment of some 40 million notebook PCs this year, for a 20 percent growth from last year. This enhances Compal`s confidence of achieving the aforementioned shipment goal for the entire year.

Optimistic about market outlooks this year, Compal has recently paced up capacity expansion. Gary Lu, spokesperson of Compal, noted that the firm`s brand new production plant in Kungshan, China, is scheduled for trial production in the second quarter of the year and mass production in the third quarter.

Source: CENS