ship.ie

What It Is

Shipco Circuits is a PCB contract manufacturing partner headquartered in Ireland, with a sister company in Canada. Its website highlights more than 51 years of PCB experience. It is not a SaaS or enterprise software platform; rather, it is a manufacturing services provider centered on human engineering review, factory matching, and quality oversight. It serves customers worldwide, with particular emphasis on the European and North American markets.

Core Capabilities

Its manufacturing scope covers 1–40 layer rigid PCBs, HDI any-layer microvias/blind vias, flexible and rigid-flex boards, RF/microwave boards, as well as materials such as 20oz heavy copper, FR-4, high-Tg, polyimide, Teflon, metal-core, and ceramic. The website emphasizes that “real engineers” review every project, checking for manufacturability issues and suggesting improvements before quoting. Shipco Circuits does not own factories; instead, it works with qualified manufacturing partners across Asia, Europe, and North America to match each project with the right factory, while providing quality oversight during production. It supports IPC Class 2 and Class 3.

Pricing and Process

The website does not publish fixed plans or price lists, using a project-based quotation model instead. Customers can submit Gerbers, ODB++, or a requirements description, after which they receive a quote and factory-matching proposal following technical review. The company explicitly states that it is not the lowest-cost supplier and does not offer instant automated quotes or portal-based self-service ordering. As a result, it is better suited to complex projects that value engineering judgment and reliable delivery, rather than standard low-cost prototyping.

Pros and Cons

Its strengths include broad technical coverage, especially for HDI, high-layer-count, RF, rigid-flex, and special-material projects; manual engineering review can help identify DFM risks early; and its factory-agnostic model reduces dependence on a single supplier’s capacity or process bias. The drawbacks are limited transparency around pricing, lead times, and payment methods; no SaaS-style capabilities such as online collaboration, permission management, APIs, or third-party integrations; and a quotation process that may be slower than automated PCB platforms.

Who It’s For and Access from China

Shipco is suitable for European and North American hardware teams, industrial electronics companies, communications/RF projects, medical applications, or other high-reliability projects that need support for complex PCB manufacturing. The text does not provide information on access from China, so this would need to be tested directly; payment methods are also not disclosed. If a China-based team cares more about local lead times, Chinese-language communication, and convenient payment options, domestic PCB manufacturers with HDI, RF, and rigid-flex capabilities may be worth comparing as alternatives.