Fujitsu Expands Flash-Memory Production in its Gresham, Oregon, Facility to
Meet Requirements of the Robust Mobile Market
Company Will Invest More Than $500 Million in the Next Two Years and Add 300
Employees Over the Next Three Years
GRESHAM, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2000-- Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu
Microelectronics, Inc. (FMI) today announced that production of flash-memory
products will be expanded at FMI's Gresham, Oregon, manufacturing facility
to meet the needs of the robust mobile products market.
``Fujitsu plans to invest $550 million in the next two years and hire 300
more employees at Gresham over the next three years,'' said Takashi Yabu,
general manager of FMI's Gresham Manufacturing Division. This would raise
total employment at the plant to about 800 by the year 2002.
Worldwide Memory Strategy
The Gresham wafer-fabrication facility started operation in October 1988 to
produce leading-edge Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) products. In 10
years' time, the factory was expanded to a 545,000-sq.ft. facility, twice
the size of the original plant. Responding to a continuing downturn of the
DRAM market, in 1998 Fujitsu began shifting the focus of its worldwide
memory strategy from PC main memory to flash memory and high-speed memory
products such as Fast Cycle RAM(tm) (FCRAM).
As part of the realignment of its global semiconductor manufacturing
operations, Fujitsu decided to introduce flash memory production at Gresham.
Fujitsu initially planned to expand the capacity of Gresham's flash-memory
production line to 10,000 wafers per month. According to Kazunari Shirai,
group president of Fujitsu's Electronic Devices Group in Japan, ``the
company decided to triple the goal, to 30,000 wafers per month, to meet the
robust demand for flash memory in cellular phones, handheld wireless devices
and other mobile products.''
The Gresham production plan will take place under a wafer-foundery
arrangement with Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Limited (FASL). FASL is a
joint-venture company established in 1993 between Fujitsu Limited and
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc.
``Gresham will be one of Fujitsu's major flash-memory facilities and one of
the most significant such facilities in the United States,'' said Shirai.
``Along with our FASL factories in Japan, we expect that Gresham will play
an important role in Fujitsu's worldwide flash-memory operation.''
Corporate Information
Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) is a leading provider of Internet-based
information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Comprising over
500 group companies and affiliates worldwide -- including ICL, Amdahl and
DMR Consulting -- it had consolidated revenues of 5.26 trillion yen ($49.6
billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000. Fujitsu's pace-setting
technologies, world-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and
global corps of over 60,000 systems and services experts make it uniquely
positioned to harness the power of the Internet to help its customers
succeed. Altogether, the Fujitsu Group has 188,000 employees and operations
in over 100 countries. Home page: fujitsu.co.jp.
Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc. designs, markets and manufactures a
comprehensive portfolio of advanced semiconductors and electronic devices.
For product information, call 800/866-8608 or visit the web site at
fujitsumicro.com. |
