Micronas begins $25 million fab expansion in Germany to add 15% more capacity
Semiconductor Business News
(05/15/00, 12:08:57 PM EDT)
FREIBURG, Germany -- Micronas GmbH announced today that it has just broken ground for a second fab module adjacent to its existing fab in Freiburg. The new fab extension is scheduled to start production in March 2001. This new expansion comes just after Micronas spent $125 million to expand Module 1.
In the first phase of construction, Micronas will invest $25 million in Module 2 for building construction and the installation of 20% of the new cleanroom's equipment. This will increase Micronas' overall capacity by 15%. When needed, Micronas will be ready to install additional equipment for production of next-generation technologies.
Module 2 will increase the available cleanroom space to 3,900 square meters, or 41,980 square feet. The additional space will allow Micronas to meet increasing demand for its products, which include consumer, multimedia, and automotive ICs and sensors.
"For the past three years, Micronas has followed a strategy of continuously adding capacity based on a modular expansion concept," said Nik V. Kaeppeler, vice president of frontend operations at the German chip maker. "This allows us to adjust our capacity to match market requirements, yet keep the ratio of investment to sales at a reasonable level. At the same time, we avoid over-capacity and continue to provide on-time delivery to our customers."
Micronas is intent on running its own fab as a means of maintaining its expertise in mixed signal processes as a key market differentiator, according to Kaeppeler. "We need to develop processes in our own fab and provide capacity for volume production in-house, in addition to outsourcing to foundries," he explained. |
