United Microelectronics Corporation has been one company to reap the advantages of having a foot on both ends of the Pacific. With the semiconductor industry already over twenty years old, the work and time involved in designing circuit boards has produced a trend toward more and more custom-made products. Half of the semiconductors sold in 1990 will be custom-made, says one estimate.
「積體電路工業發展廿年來，慢慢有走向顧客訂製產品的趨勢」，曹興誠解釋，電路板上的線路複雜，設計頗為費時，所以供應者多預測顧客需求、製成成品出售，就像衣服中的「成衣」。