DUBLIN -- 2012 was a bumper year for flexible printed circuit board manufacturers, a new report says.

The global flex circuit market reached $10.68 billion, up 15.2% from 2011, says Research and Markets.

Moreover, flex will maintain the strong growth momentum in 2013, Research and Markets said. The global market is expected to grow another 8.9% year-over-year to $11.63 billion this year.

Although the market conditions are good, not all manufacturers can seize the opportunities, Research and Markets said. Case in point: Fujikura, which suffered the largest decline in 2012. Fujikara hasn't recovered from the Thailand floods in 2011, and the revenue declined to half of that of 2011. In 2013, Fujikura's FPCB business will recover slowly, but will be unlikely to regain orders in a short period of time, the research firm said.

Flex circuits are used in almost all popular electronic products, especially tablet PCs and smartphones.

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