Rita hits polysilicon supply, says analyst
Peter Clarke
(09/23/2005 1:33 PM EDT)
URL: eetimes.com
LONDON — MEMC Electronics Materials Inc., a producer of polycrystalline silicon material, has shut a plant in Pasedena, Texas, ahead of the expected landfall of Hurricane Rita, according to Paul Leming, chief financial analyst with Princeton Tech Research.
The closure, although done in an orderly manner, is likely to have some impact on a market where demand is already ahead of manufacturing capacity, Leming said. ASiMi, Hemlock, MEMC, Mitsubishi Materials and Wacker are reportedly sold out of polysilicon for the next two to three years. The Pasedena plant is responsible for about two-thirds of MEMCs capacity and between about 7 percent and 8 percent of the semiconductor industry’s polysilicon manufacturing capacity, Leming said in a note.
MEMC has two facilities; one in Italy and one in Pasedena, Texas. The plant in Italy produces approximately 1,000 metric tonnes of polysilicon and the plant in Texas produces approximately 1,700 metric tonnes of polysilicon, Leming said. Pasedena is just outside Houston, Texas, currently being evacuated ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Rita.
“The Houston plant has been shut down, and will remain down for at least as long as the population in the area is under evacuation orders. The plant was brought down in an orderly fashion — restarting should pose no problem,” Leming said in the note. However, after the experience of Hurricane Katrina it is clear that it is impossible to predict what conditions will be like after the passing of the latest hurricane.
MEMC would not comment on the company’s stocks of polysilicon inventory, Leming said.
Leming said, “We believe Hurricane Rita will have some impact on the wafer industry in the coming weeks. Any serious damage to MEMC's polysilicon plant could well be "the tipping point" that turns a tight polysilicon/silicon wafer market from a "tight" market to a "short" market.”
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