Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI), one of the world's leading electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers, is expanding its operations in Southwestern China and has opened a new factory in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The new factory is the sixth IMI manufacturing facility in China. The 7,500-square meter Chengdu plant offers a wide variety of electronics manufacturing solutions, from printed circuit board assembly to full product assembly for OEMs in various markets such as those in the industrial, automotive, medical, solar energy, storage device, consumer electronics and telecommunications infrastructure industries. 'IMI's expansion to Chengdu is part of our strategy to bring IMI's services closer to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs ) which increasingly require greater capacity in China to supply a large domestic market as well as to manufacture for export markets, ' IMI Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said Monday. Ayala said China will remain the world's biggest manufacturer and exporter of electronics and will help drive global economic recovery. This is why it's important for IMI to build plants in China. 'Having this strategic position in the region will allow us to capture a greater share of volume orders as demand turns in step with the economic cycle,' he said. IMI President Arthur Tan said that the company's new plant in Chengdu will help IMI to offer its expertise to its customer. IMI considered the steadily rising costs of manufacturing and labor supply shortages in the coastal regions in its further expansion in the area. 'Southwestern China's manufacturing costs are more competitive compared to those in the coastal cities,' Tan said, adding 'it also has the largest pool of migrant workers. Because of this, the move into the central regions by OEMs and their EMS partners has gained momentum. The other IMI plants are located in Shenzhen; Jiaxing; and Chongqing. IMI also offers contract design services to OEMs through its design and engineering centers located in Shenzhen in China; Singapore, the Philippines, and the U.S. 