Taiwan and Europe should work hand in hand in the transition to 450mm wafer production, which would benefit the semiconductor industry and other industries, the EU representative to Taiwan said yesterday.
“In times of economic crisis like this, it is important to keep a long-term strategy that goes beyond immediate reaction,” Guy Ledoux, head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, said at an EU-Taiwan workshop on the transition.
Few industries can succeed without the use of microchips, Ledoux said, adding that if countries do not work together in the transition to 450mm wafer production from the current standard 350mm, many other industries would run the risk of losing out on benefits.
Given that the semiconductor industry and its related research institutions are essential for both Europe and Taiwan, the workshop is a facilitator for closer cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Europe, Ledoux said.
Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s new chip manufacturing unit, Globalfoundries, expects business at semiconductor companies to “quickly” pick up if demand rebounds, given low inventory levels in the industry.
“It is a much tighter supply chain than several years ago, when there was an overabundance of inventory,” Doug Grose, chief executive officer at Globalfoundries, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
“End-user demand will translate through to wafers and other parts of the supply chain very quickly,” said Grose, who didn’t provide a forecast for the chip industry.
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