Japan-based Nippon Mining Holdings, Inc. said this week that it will raise its production capacity for rolled copper foil some 150% by July 2004, according to a published report.
Demand for the material, used in PCBs, is increasing because of folding mobile phones and other devices, the report stated.
Nippon Mining Holdings reportedly will expand capacity at its subsidiaries in Japan and also begin making rolled copper foil at the Nikko Materials subsidiary in the Philippines.
According to the report, subsidiary Nikko Materials currently manufactures 2 million meters of rolled copper foil per month at a factory in Japan. The firm will produce about 4 million meters domestically and 1 million meters in the Philippines after the expansion, said the report.
The Nippon Mining Holdings group is said to hold about 80% of the world market for rolled copper foil, the report stated.
Source: The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition, March 11, 2003 (Nikkei)