Reports differ on Casetek's future contribution to Apple iPhone case supply

With one supply chain monitor claiming that Apple case manufacturer Casetek is on the path to supply future iPhone enclosures, remarks made by the manufacturer's CEO are far less clear on the matter, suggesting only a possibility of a future contract.

While supply chain reports from Digitimes claims that machining company Casetek has already seized iPhone case orders, remarks from Casetek CEO Gary Chuang paint a different picture.

"From iMacs, iPads to MacBooks ... the [iPhone] is the only product we have not supplied," Chuang said to the Taipei Times. "We will focus on developing this business next year."

When directly asked about an iPhone casing contract, Chuang said that the company has a "good chance next year" given Apple's "positive feedback" on the current product lineup.

Casetek garnered the production contract for the MacBook in 2015. It is the main supplier of case parts for the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Chuang expects that the company's revenue climb in 2017 will be attributable to growth in notebook sales, and not an iPhone contract, as Digitimes has claimed.

The company has recently approved the expenditure of $66 million of production equipment for milling, as well as previously announced plans to install 1000 more CNC machines to improve existing plants construction capacity.

Chuang claims that the new machines will be capable of supplying Apple's case needs, regardless if the material used is aluminum or glass.

If the reports of the company expanding into iPhone case manufacture prove to be accurate, the company will be the fourth supplier of iPhone enclosures, including Catcher Technology, Foxconn, and Jabil.