Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pods to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), yesterday said it is looking at setting up a factory in the US to align itself with TSMC’s capacity expansion there.
Gudeng is one of several TSMC suppliers that are considering following their customer in setting up operations in the US to provide on-site services.
TSMC is building a 12-inch fab in Phoenix, Arizona, for an initial investment of US$12 billion. It plans to produce 20,000 wafers a month using 5-nanometer technology when the fab becomes operational in 2024.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
TSMC uses EUV tools extensively in the production of chips using 5-nanometer technology and plans to use it to make 3-nanometer chips.
Gudeng chairman Bill Chiu (邱銘乾) told a media briefing in Taipei that the company is in no hurry to build a plant in the US, given the small scale of TSMC’s capacity expansion in the US at this stage.
TSMC’s Arizona fab is to have installed capacity of 20,000 wafers a month, which is only one-fifth of 100,000 wafers at TSMC’s advanced factories at home.
“However, it is only a matter of time for Gudeng to build a presence in the US,” Chiu said, adding that semiconductor production has become a national security issue, which might constitute a trade barrier.
Building a localized supply chain, rather than cost efficiency, has become the top priority for semiconductor companies when selecting new factory sites, as the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the normal production and supply of components and raw materials, Chiu said.
“This [building localized supply chains] will be the top priority for us in the next three to five years,” he said.
Gudeng is looking to form an alliance with local semiconductor equipment manufacturers and raw material suppliers to minimize the risk of supply disruptions, Chiu said.
Before it builds capacity in the US, Gudeng is arranging several of its employees to work at its US office to provide on-site services to customers, Chiu said.
The employees are waiting for their working visa applications to be approved, he said.
Gudeng controls about 70 percent of the world’s EUV pod market, with TSMC and Intel Corp topping its customer list.
TSMC, Intel and Samsung Electronics Co are the world’s only three semiconductor companies that can afford the expensive EUV tools made by ASML Holding NV.
China is also trying to enter the advanced chip manufacturing market via Huawei Technologies Inc (華為), an industry insider said.
Huawei wants Gudeng to build a production line in China to back a chip manufacturing fab, the person said.
Gudeng yesterday gave an optimistic outlook for next year, thanks to strong demand for EUV pods and wafer front opening unified pods (FOUPs).
Gudeng said it has landed a big order to supply wafer FOUPs to the nation’s biggest semiconductor company next year and expects demand for EUV pods to rise rapidly after TSMC starts ramping up 3-nanometer technology in the second half of next year.
During the first 11 months of this year, Gudeng’s revenue surged 26.54 percent to NT$2.72 billion (US$98.24 million), compared with NT$2.15 billion in the same period last year.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS