CASE
STUDIES

Japan's four largest factory-automation OEMs require PCB supply under strict Japanese-style quality audits and IATF 16949 compliance, across product lifecycles exceeding 20 years. Long-life product support, defect rates measured in ppm, and lot-to-lot consistency sit at the core of their sourcing criteria.

FQC, founded by a Tokyo University graduate and shaped by Japanese-quality discipline, supplies up to 24-layer multilayer boards at 2 mil / 50 μm minimum trace and space on an IATF 16949-certified line. Every process step is barcode-traceable end-to-end, and Japanese QC specialists are embedded on-site.

Relationships with all four customers pre-date 2004 and are continuously disclosed in the 2020 IPO prospectus and the 2024 annual report. Japanese customers still represent roughly 50% of parent-company revenue.

Analytical instruments and process-control hardware run on 15-20 year product-support cycles. They require full material traceability, medical-grade documentation, and a quality system aligned with ISO 13485. Line-down events are not an option.

FQC is one of the few fabs holding IATF 16949 and ISO 13485 simultaneously on the same production line. Serialized panel tracking, 25-year document archival, and medical-grade documentation packages ship as standard with every lot.

The Shimadzu and Yokogawa relationships are disclosed in the 2020 IPO prospectus. The analytical-instrument segment falls inside the ~10% "other" bucket in parent-company revenue, which also includes medical and consumer.

800G and 1.6T AI-server optical modules require 40 GHz signal integrity, 3+4+3 HDI builds, embedded copper blocks for thermal extraction, and ultra-low-loss laminates such as Megtron 7/8. End-customer qualification cycles typically run 2-3 years.

FQC ships 5th-order any-layer HDI at ±5% impedance, with Megtron 7/8 support and measured 40 GHz signal integrity. Embedded copper blocks inside a 3+4+3 HDI stackup run on a single production line, with sub-micron position tolerance between blocks and vias.

In October 2024 FQC was qualified by a leading optical-module end customer for 800G and began small-batch shipping. In January 2026, the 1.6T variant passed qualification as well (reported by Sina Finance 2026-01-21).