GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, is to add about 20,000 advanced 12-inch wafers a month from local fabs starting this quarter, the firm said on Monday.
The Hsinchu-based semiconductor company said it is expanding capacity at factories in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Italy to meet robust demand.
With the additions, GlobalWafers expects its capacity to increase 10 to 15 percent, it said.
Photo: Fang Wei-jie, Taipei Times
A major portion of the new capacity would be available from the second half of this year, it said.
“Taiwan is to be the first place to reach the goal, with [fabs in] Japan and South Korea to have new capacity available afterward,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told reporters at a media event.
GlobalWafers reiterated its strong business outlook for this year and beyond.
“Demand is not a problem. Raw material supply is tight, but it is still manageable,” Hsu said. “All of our factories are fully utilized. All wafer sizes are fully booked. The supply of 12-inch wafers is the tightest, as all of our customers are expanding 12-inch fabs.”
Surges in transportation costs — which have expanded three or even fourfold — and port congestion remain the biggest challenges, Hsu said.
“We have factored in most cost rises in wafer price quotes, but the increases in transportation costs have exceeded our expectations,” she said.
To support capacity expansion, GlobalWafers and its parent company, Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美矽晶), a solar company, this year plan to recruit more than 500 people in Taiwan, up from about 100 new openings last year, Hsu said.
Short supply of workers is becoming a new challenge for the company to expand production this year, coupled with tight supply of raw materials, Hsu said.
A deal to merge Siltronics AG is still ongoing, GlobalWafers said, adding that it hopes to close the deal by its Jan. 31 deadline.
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