U.K. silicon foundry ESM on comeback trail
By Mark LaPedus
Semiconductor Business News
(10/13/00, 12:37:39 PM EDT)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- At the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) conference here, ESM Ltd. of the United Kingdom disclosed its strategy to re-establish itself in the silicon foundry business.
ESM--the south Wales chip fab formerly owned by now-defunct Newport Wafer Fab Ltd.--said it plans to boost its overall wafer capacity, expand its workforce, and focus on a few key process technologies. And more importantly, ESM hopes to make a major comeback after Newport Wafer Fab itself filed for bankruptcy last year, due in part to a downturn in the overall semiconductor market in 1998.
Last August, the operation was acquired for an undisclosed sum in a management buyout involving private investors and a European chip supplier. Investors in ESM included Apex Partners & Co. Ventures Ltd., Dialog Semiconductors GmbH, and Comdisco Inc.
"I don't look at it as a comeback story," said Dennis Tachick, executive vice president of ESM, in an interview at the FSA event on Thursday. "We're a new company."
ESM is also re-spinning its previous foundry strategy. The company does not want to play in the competitive digital-oriented foundry segments, but rather in the more specialized mixed-signal, radio-frequency (RF), and related businesses, Tachick said.
"The key word is mixed-signal," Tachick said. "We are not competing against TSMC, UMC, or Chartered. TSMC, for example, is chasing after high-end graphics chips, but we don't want to compete in those markets."
At present, ESM operates 6- and 8-inch fabs. In total, the company makes 30,000 6-in. equivalant wafers per month. "Our technology focus is from 1-micron down to 0.35-micron," he said.
Like most foundry vendors, however, ESM is experiencing huge OEM demand. "We are on allocation," he added. "We are adding capacity to [to meet demand]." |
