GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) yesterday said it held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for a new 12-inch wafer factory in Texas, as the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier aims to build a strategic presence in the country that houses top semiconductor companies such as Intel Corp.
The US$5 billion wafer factory would help build a resilient semiconductor supply chain in the US, as a lacking local supply for US semiconductor companies has become “alarming and highlighted with recent COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical issues,” GlobalWafers said.
“Customers have been welcoming of this action by the company as evidenced by [an increase in] long-term supply contracts, which address the key target markets of automotive, mobile, PC, consumer and industrial,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
The company said it had accumulated NT$38.2 billion (US$1.25 billion) in net prepayment from customers by the end of the third quarter, with most of the new long-term supply agreements from the Texas fab.
“Our US factory is the biggest 12-inch wafer supplier in the US. We are the preferred supplier,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told investors on Nov. 1.
GlobalWafers said it would only start building the new factory once its capacity was at least 80 percent booked.
Long-term supply agreements work well for the US fab close to the factories, the company said.
The Texas fab would have an installed capacity of 1.2 million 12-inch wafers when it is fully developed.
GlobalWafer said the capacity expansion would proceed in phases according to changes in market demand.
The capacity expansion is supported by funding from the US’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, state and local incentives, as well as strong support from US customers, the company said.
GlobalWafers is the second local semiconductor company after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to secure US support through the CHIPS and Science Act.
The subsidies and tax incentives from the US government would help GlobalWafers mitigate heavy manufacturing costs in the initial phase, it said.
The new fab would start volume production in the first quarter of 2025 at the earliest, the company said.
GlobalWafers already operates two US factories in Texas and Missouri, making 8-inch wafers and 12-inch wafers respectively.
The capacity expansion is part of GlobalWafers’ broader NT$100 billion expansion plan. About 45 percent of the investment would be made on existing factories in six countries. The plan was launched after a planned acquisition of Germany’s Siltronics AG was aborted.
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