:::nicosteel:::

Our Solutions

5G and the Future of Internet of Things

The Fifth Generation (5G) wireless network technology will establish the Internet of Things (IoT) as an indispensable part of our world. Compared to the 4G LTE, it will be able to embrace up to 100 times more connected devices per unit area. However, the continuous exchange of data puts a strain on the network, battery life of the devices and most importantly, it increases the sophistication of digital devices.

5 Key Challenges of 5G-capable electronic devices

These 5G-capable digital Devices (smart phones, note books, tablets, game consoles, etc.) are becoming more mobile and need to be light-weight and multi-functional. However, industry standard metallic materials have already reached optimization in terms of strength to weight ratio, heat dissipation and radio wave shielding capabilities and are facing difficulties in meeting all these requirements.

Thickness	:	lighter digital devices lead to thinner and compact components.
Strength	:	hardness, toughness and strength of materials to enhance functionality of the digital devices.
Shielding	:	enable the receiving and sending of dedicated signals to communicate and execute actions/commands concurrently.
Heat Dispersion	:	heat transfer is crucial for all digital devices with increasing bandwidth and speed.
Weight	:	innovative and customised solutions on metal alloy materials to achieve functionality, durability and mobility.

While this approach placed Nico Steel at the forefront of the metal alloy materials industry, the Group has to invest on the lead time for new product developments and market reception to innovative materials.

NICO Solutions

NICO Product Family Architecture (PFA): NICO Brand Materials

5G capable digital devices face all the challenges mentioned above and require metals that can circumvent these issues. However all metals have limited properties. As such, NICO has developed, over the years, a range of NICO Brand Materials with unique chemical and physical properties that meet the stringent requirements 5G capable devices.

	Proprietary Metal Alloys (NICO Solderite®, NICO N10, NICO AL50, N-Laminate)
	N-Clad Solutions for thermal management (Applications: electric vehicle, thermal plate, LED panel, keyboard etc.)
	N-Plate Solutions for thermal, EMI and weight management with strength (Applications: Notebook, mobile phones, aerial drones etc.)
	N-Coat Solutions for Insulation or Surface Conductive Management (Applications: PCBA circuit board, robotics, VR devices etc.)

Board Level Shielding Solutions (BLS)

NICO’s BLS solutions focus on the above 5 key challenges faced by 5G devices to create revolutionary shielding solutions. These solutions allow manufacturers to meet the requirements of light weight and portability with very stringent shielding capabilities required by the next generation devices.

Thermal Solutions

NICO’s Thermal solutions have achieved a unique combination of thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and strength. These solutions can provide the efficient heat dissipation properties of pure copper, the super strength and electrical conductivity of steel and at the same time be ultra-slim and light.

Mass Customization: The Key to NICO’s Strategic Competitive Edge

There has been a dramatic increase in the complexity of demand coming from consumers as retailer’s worldwide struggle to deliver more customized formulations, packages and configurations for all kinds of products. As such, manufacturers are making shorter production runs and more unit-level customization. This refers to rapid, low cost production of goods and services to satisfy increasingly unique customer desires. Essentially, providing more choices for less.

The Group has been at the forefront of this shift in manufacturing technology trends and has built products, processes, patents, deep know-how and technologies around Mass Customization. This is reflected in our proprietary NICO Brand Material Solutions Customization Process which leverages on NICO’s four key competencies:

	Multiple patented production technologies.

	Deep know-how in game-changing metallurgical solution customisation that cannot be duplicated by competitors.

	Production of specialised metal alloy products with unique chemical & physical properties under own NICO brand.

	Possess very broad client base with direct access to the world’s top mobile communications, digital device & EV brand owners’ design teams.

NICO Brand Material Solutions Customization Process

Notable Achievements

The Group’s mass customisation strategy of leveraging technological innovative metal alloy materials under our own NICO brand, is bearing fruits Below are some of our notable achievements.

Selected Brand Owners and their Products

Intellectual property, trademark, and licensing

Patents and registered trademarks - technological and mechanical processes and NICO brand of metal alloys - this acts as a natural barrier of entry (or at least slows down competition)

The Group has successfully registered another three trademarks in China for its NICO brand metal alloy products:

	N20M and N20 are for design parts that require strength, corrosion resistance and non-magnetic permeability.
	NICO CA2 focuses on heat solutions, e.g. heat dispersion plate.

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