Fujimi Inc, the world’s No. 3 supplier of chemical-mechanical polishing slurry, used in chip manufacturing, plans to invest NT$1 billion (US$34.64 million) in Taiwan within three years, jumping on the bandwagon of turning overseas for new manufacturing sites after the March 11 earthquake in Japan.
The Japanese firm plans to first set up a research and development (R&D) center and then a production line in Taiwan to better serve local clients, which includes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Web site yesterday.
The R&D center in Taiwan would be Fujimi’s first research center outside Japan, as the company’s Web site indicates that it operates only one in Kakamigahara in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture.
Fujimi’s move reflects a rising trend of Japanese companies shifting production to overseas manufacturing sites since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami halted operations of many companies in the affected areas, while the subsequent damage to the power supply continues to affect companies’ ability to function.
The number of investment programs from Japan has spiked since the March disaster, the ministry said, adding that it has formed a special task force to deal with the sudden increase in investment proposals.
“Fujimi’s investment means a lot to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, as most Japanese manufacturers of key electronic parts and materials tend to build plants at home in order to keep core technological know-how within the company,” a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
Early this month, Fujimi obtained approval from the Cabinet’s National Science Council to spend NT$200 million on setting up a local branch at Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學工業園區).
Chemical mechanical polishing slurry is crucial material for semiconductor companies to make chips on advanced technologies, or using cost-saving copper processing technology, the council said.
Fujimi, which accounts for 85 percent of the world’s chemical-mechanical polishing slurry used in raw wafers, owns 361 patents related to polishing slurry, according to the council.
In the statement, the ministry said another Japanese company, Sumitomo Electric Industries, which makes wires and cables used in semiconductor material cutting, has begun mass production at a local production line in Taoyuan.
Last year, Sumitomo Electric told the ministry it would spend more than NT$100 million on ramping up the production line.
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