Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Overview
Samsung Electro-Mechanics (삼성전기) is an electronic components company affiliated with the Samsung Group, founded in 1973. It primarily produces multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), semiconductor package substrates (such as FC-BGA), and camera modules. Headquartered in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and listed on the KOSPI, it is a materials and components company that supplies core parts used in nearly all electronic products, including smartphones, PCs, servers, and electric vehicles. It has a 'hidden champion'-type business structure that competes in the global market with components alone, without finished-product brands.
Main Content
Business Segments
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' business is largely divided into three pillars. First is the Component Division, which produces passive components such as MLCCs, inductors, and chip resistors. Second is the Package Solution Division, which makes package substrates (FC-BGA, FC-CSP, PBGA, etc.) and rigid-flex printed circuit boards (RF-PCBs) that connect semiconductor chips and mainboards. Third is the Optical Solution Division, which supplies camera modules for smartphones, tablets, and automobiles.
MLCCs (Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors)
MLCCs are components that store electric charge to stabilize voltage and filter noise, and are called the 'rice of electronic products.' A single smartphone contains hundreds to more than 1,000, and an electric vehicle contains thousands. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is considered one of the top-tier suppliers in the global MLCC market along with Murata, TDK, and Yageo, and has strengthened its lineup of ultra-small, high-capacity, high-reliability products and automotive MLCCs. Its core competitiveness lies in in-house procurement of ceramic dielectric powder and its lamination and firing process technologies.
Semiconductor Package Substrates
Package substrates are a high-value-added product group directly linked to semiconductor performance. In particular, FC-BGA is a high-difficulty substrate used in high-performance CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators, requiring fine-circuit implementation capabilities and large-area, high-layer-count technologies. Samsung Electro-Mechanics has expanded production capacity centered on overseas bases such as Vietnam, and is pursuing a strategy to increase the proportion of high-value-added substrates for servers and AI.
Camera Modules
The Optical Solution Division focuses on camera modules for smartphones, including modules for folded zoom and high-resolution sensors, and has recently been expanding into automotive cameras and optical components for robots and XR devices.
History and Governance
It began in 1973 as Samsung Electronics Parts Industry (삼성전자부품공업) and changed its name to Samsung Electro-Mechanics (삼성전기) in 1987, after which it diversified into substrates, MLCCs, and camera modules. As an affiliate in which Samsung Electronics holds a stake, it occupies an important position in the Samsung Group's component supply chain. It has production and research bases in Suwon (headquarters), Sejong, Busan, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and elsewhere.
Latest Trends
In 2024–2025, the key industry topics are AI infrastructure expansion and electrification. With the surge in demand for AI servers and accelerators, demand for high-layer-count, large-area FC-BGA and high-capacity MLCCs increased, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics is focusing on expanding the proportion of server substrates and AI-related high-value-added components. In response to the spread of electric vehicles and autonomous driving, it is also strengthening its lineup of automotive MLCCs, automotive camera modules, and high-reliability power components. In addition, as R&D on new-material components such as glass substrates, mentioned as next-generation substrates, and silicon capacitors emerges as an industry-wide topic, the role of component companies with in-house materials and process capabilities is drawing attention again. Amid the structural challenge of slowing growth in the smartphone market, expanding applications to AI, servers, automotive, and robots is assessed as the axis of its mid-term growth strategy.
Related Topics
- [[Samsung Electronics]]
- [[MLCC]]
- [[Semiconductor package substrate]]
- [[Camera module]]
- [[FC-BGA]]