GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 supplier of silicon wafers, yesterday held a ceremony to mark completion of a 12-inch fab in South Korea, paving the way for operations to be fully under way by the end of next year.
The fab, which is to be operated by GlobalWafers’ 100 percent-owned subsidiary MEMC Korea Co, would concentrate on producing 12-inch wafers for emerging applications like 5G and artificial intelligence, the company said.
Dubbed Fab 2, the facility is to have an installed capacity of 176,000 wafers per month, it said.
With the added capacity, GlobalWafers would be able to produce more than 1 million 12-inch wafers per month, it said.
“Smooth construction and rapid approval demonstrate that the project is deeply recognized by customers and the [South Korean] government,” GlobalWafers chairperson Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said in a statement.
GlobalWafers signed five-year supply contracts with customers, who have made prepayment for wafers to be produced at the plant, it said.
Due to an oversupply-driven slump in demand, GlobalWafers pushed back the start of operations by three to four months, it said.
The fab is to start ramping up production in the second quarter of next year and reach full production by the end of the year, rather than in the third quarter as previously planned, the company told investors at the start of this month.
It would keep the schedule flexible in accordance with market demand, GlobalWafers said.
A recovery is beginning, as excess inventory in its supply chain has eased, it said, adding that the correction would last for one to three more quarters.
Apart from solidifying GlobalWafers’ pioneering role, Fab 2 would also serve as a strategic deployment of national importance in amid global trade tensions, the company said.
Being its crucial research and development, and manufacturing center in Northeast Asia, MEMC has been manufacturing and selling high-quality 8-inch and 12-inch wafers for the past 30 years, GlobalWafers said.
MEMC has established profound long-term relationships with local tier-1 customers, it said.
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