PentaPro Materials Inc (宇川精材), which produces metal organic precursors used in advanced chip production, yesterday said it plans to invest NT$3 billion (US$95.17 million) in a new factory in Taiwan to meet rising demand.
The company’s main facility is approaching full capacity as customers continue to advance manufacturing process technologies to create smaller chips with more complicated architecture, PentaPro told a news conference in Taipei.
The company’s semiconductor precursors are high-purity chemical liquids used in chip manufacturing. They provide source materials for depositing thin films mainly using atomic layer deposition to form integrated circuits. The process is primarily used in the production of logic and memory chips smaller than 16 nanometers.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
PentaPro is a supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker.
“Utilization of the existing factory is running in high gear now,” PentaPro co-CEO C.Y. Chen (陳建榮) said. “One of our major advantages is local supply. We are running out of space, so we have to build a second factory.”
Chipmakers prefer the local supply of semiconductor precursors, as the chemicals are primary chemical hazards and can only be transported through ocean shipping, a time-consuming practice compared with air freight for chips.
The new factory would have an installed capacity six to 10 times greater than the existing plant, when it enters operation in 2028, PentaPro said.
The company is collaborating with multiple customers to jointly develop new precursors and to produce them for customers on a contract basis, chairman and co-CEO Kuo Wen-che (郭文哲) said.
To cope with growing demand, PentaPro said it is revamping an older production line to produce advanced semiconductor precursors later this year.
It expects revenue this year to grow significantly higher than last year, thanks to strong customer demand and new capacity.
Cumulative revenue in the first 11 months of last year totaled NT$121 million, a dramatic increase from full-year revenue of NT$61 million in 2024, company data showed.
Semiconductor precursors accounted for more than 70 percent of the company’s revenue last year, PentaPro said.
However, the company lost NT$97 million in the first half of last year, or losses per share of NT$0.97, as additional costs for equipment purchases and technology adjustments dented the company’s gross margin, it said.
A smaller revenue scale was also a factor, PentaPro chief financial officer Joseph Chen (陳祖華) said.
The company swung into a monthly profit in November, as gross margin improved, he said.
PentaPro is scheduled to debut its shares on the Emerging Stock Board on Tuesday next week.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS