台资触摸屏企业关闭东莞工厂
Taiwanese group Wintek, formerly a major supplier of touchscreens for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, has shuttered two plants in southern China and axed 7,000 jobs, leaving unpaid suppliers to chase debts of Rmb230m ($37m).
台湾胜华科技(Wintek)关闭了中国南方的两家工厂，裁掉了7000员工，并亏欠供应商大约2.3亿元人民币（约合3700万美元）的账款。胜华科技曾是苹果(Apple) iPhone和iPad触摸屏的主要供应商之一。Armed police surrounded the plants in the city of Dongguan as workers collected final pay this week, while suppliers demonstrated in front of the factories. Wintek declined to comment.
本周武警包围了这两家设在东莞的工厂。工人们聚集在厂门口讨要工资，供应商也上门来讨债。胜华科技拒绝置评。
The company sought insolvency protection in October, filing in Taiwan for a restructuring of more than NT30bn ($961m) in debts owed to local and mainland lenders and suppliers. Wintek reported a loss of NT$10bn for 2013 and a NT$3bn loss in the first half this year. The Taipei-listed company was once one of the main suppliers for Apple, but placed a bet that failed after Apple selected a rival touchscreen in late 2012.
该公司10月在台湾提交了破产保护申请，希望重组超过300亿元新台币（合9.61亿美元）欠台湾和大陆银行及供应商的债务。胜华科技2013年亏损了100亿元新台币，今年上半年亏损了30亿元新台币。这家台北上市公司曾是苹果的主要供应商之一，但苹果在2012年底选择了竞争对手的触摸屏，致使其押注失败。
The episode represents a cautionary tale for high-tech manufacturers in southern China who aspire to being an official Apple supplier.
胜华科技的例子给有志成为苹果供应商的华南高科技制造企业敲响了警钟。While Wintek was the largest supplier of touchscreens for the iPhone 4, Apple switched to a different technology in 2012 for its iPhone 5, eliminating much of Apple’s need for Wintek’s technology.
虽然该公司曾是iPhone 4最大的触摸屏供应商，但是苹果在2012年为iPhone 5选择了另一种技术，消除了苹果对胜华科技技术的大部分需求。In 2013, Apple then opted for film touch panels in its iPads, rather than the glass touch panels made by Wintek. Apple still lists a Wintek facility in Suzhou, near Shanghai, as a supplier, but not any of its Dongguan plants.
2013年，苹果为iPad选择了薄膜触摸屏面板，而不是胜华科技生产的玻璃触摸屏面板。苹果仍将胜华科技设在苏州的一家工厂列为其供应商，但胜华的东莞工厂未被列入供应商名录。Jerry Chen from Shenzhen Laibao Hi-tech, another touchscreen maker, said, such incidents are common “although it did come a bit suddenly with Wintek”.
另一家触摸屏制造商——深圳莱宝高科技公司(Shenzhen Laibao Hi-tech)的Jerry Chen表示，这种情况是常见的，“只是在胜华科技的案例中确实有些突然”。“It mostly has to do with the growing competition and lower margins. Before there used to be two to three companies sharing a single order and now there may be as many as 10,” he said.
他表示：“这主要与竞争加剧和利润率下滑有关。以往的情况是两、三家公司分享一份订单，现在可能有多达10家厂商分享一份订单。”But he said the plant closures did not necessarily mean Wintek was obsolete, as it still made the leading technology in “on glass solution” (OGS) touchscreens.
但他同时也指出，关闭工厂未必意味着胜华科技已经出局，因为它仍掌握着“单玻璃解决方案”(OGS)触摸屏领域的先进技术。Wintek’s shares were suspended in mid-November at NT$1.83.
胜华科技的股票已于11月中旬停牌，最后的收盘价为1.83元新台币。
