Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), which supplies wafer pods to the world's major semiconductor firms, yesterday announced plans to form a new venture to accelerate supply chain deployment in the US in the wake of new US trade and tariff policies.
Gudeng would be joined by several companies in the local semiconductor supply chain, as they seek to cope with dramatic changes in the geopolitical situation and US President Donald Trump’s trade policies, Gudeng said.
It comes as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week announced an additional US$100 billion investment in the US, which includes three chip manufacturing fabs, two advanced chip packaging plants and a research-and-development center.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
Two years ago, Gudeng initiated the idea of forming an alliance with eight local semiconductor companies, creating a new company, TSS Holdings Ltd (德鑫半導體控股), focusing on its operations in the US.
Member companies distribute and supply products to customers in the US, as well as provide real-time services through a more cost-effective approach, Gudeng said.
The new venture, which would be similar to that of TSS, is to be established later this year.
About 10 companies are participating, including specialty plastic compounds producer Nytex Composites Co (耐特科技) and AblePrint Technology Co (印能科技), which specializes in key equipment used in advanced chip packaging technology, such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS).
Members of both alliances are direct or indirect suppliers to TSMC, providing wafer pods, semiconductor materials, advanced chip packaging-related equipment and industrial intelligence applications.
Gudeng, a key supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and high-numerical aperture EUV pods to TSMC, is considering building its first production base in the US to address growing demand from key customers.
It also supplies advanced front-opening unified pods and wafer cassettes to TSMC and Intel Corp, as well as Chinese and South Korean chipmakers. Gudeng has a warehouse in Arizona.
The company said its new pods, used in the production procedure of CoWoS, are currently undergoing qualification by customers.
The new products are expected to fuel the company’s growth momentum, as one of its major customers is boosting CoWoS capacity in the second half of this year and another key customer is restarting its CoWoS projects following a two-year suspension, Gudeng said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS