AT&S plant in Korea is shaping the future of medical technology

A revolution is taking place in medical technology. To stay at the forefront of this development the Styrian technology company is continuing its expansion by upgrading and enlarging its plant in Ansan, Korea. High-quality connection solutions for medical technology are produced here.

Hearing aids, insulin pumps and implants are already important tools for doctors and their patients. Future applications – for example artificial hearts, implants for targeted pain suppression or new generations of arm or leg prostheses that support the natural sequence of movements in the best possible way – keep increasing the demands on technology in medicine.

In order to be able to supply the medical sector with state-of-the-art technology in the future, AT&S has implemented a comprehensive technology upgrade at the Ansan location in Korea. This took the production technologies in the plant to a new level. “After this upgrade, around 8,000 square meters of additional production space will be available, most of which will be used for the manufacture of connection solutions for medical technology applications. At the same time, our production equipment was also brought up to date, ”explains Christian Fleck, COO of the Automotive, Industrial and Medical business unit at AT&S.

Just like in other high-tech industries, products are becoming more complex and multi-layered. A diagnostic device that includes two sensor functions today will need five tomorrow. The technology is becoming increasingly powerful, but still has to work in the smallest of spaces and with an increasing amount of data. New technological approaches will further deepen this trend. In diagnostics, for example, artificial intelligence will increasingly be used for data evaluation in the future, which requires the integration of new, specialized components. Circuit boards, substrates and connection solutions from AT&S create the necessary platform for such highly integrated, miniaturized electronic systems.

Specialized in medical technology: The AT&S plant in Ansan, Südkorea

With the newly installed systems, such as multilayer flex presses, machines for e-copper coating and highly innovative UV lasers, production capacities will increase by more than a quarter. On the other hand, the new infrastructure significantly contributes to more efficient and resource-conserving printed circuit board production, for example in the area of ​​water treatment.

“The medical technology sector is an important part of the AT&S strategy and an exciting business area that we are constantly developing,” says AT&S CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer. “With our connection solutions we are among the global market leaders in this segment and are already thinking intensively with our partners about solutions with which diagnostics and therapy will be revolutionized in the next few years.”

The AT&S plant in Ansan specializes in the production of high-tech printed circuit boards for a wide variety of medical areas. For example, it produces connection solutions for hearing aids with special sensors for targeted noise suppression in certain situations, as well as circuit boards for cardiac catheters that enable three-dimensional interior images of the human heart. A number of manufacturers also rely on AT&S technology for smart drug pumps that can automatically dispense controlled quantities of a substance when required. (at&s)