Tito,
Thanks for your posts. I hope things go well for your home country, and they can attract good industries and jobs!
All,
Below is the Micron story that I remember seeing. Correction on my earlier figures: "Micron is planning to spend up to $1 billion in capital investment in fiscal 1998 [which ends Aug. 31]. This is up sharply from $600 million in the fiscal year just ending."
Plus another Micron story and the links for the complete stories.
Regards,
Teri
techweb.com
Here are excerpts of EBN's interview with Appleton:
Q: Micron attributed its DRAM market gains to its leading-edge production processes. What is the level of capital investment you will make to try to keep this advantage?
A: Micron is planning to spend up to $1 billion in capital investment in fiscal 1998 [which ends Aug. 31]. This is up sharply from $600 million in the fiscal year just ending. This will include transitioning our fabs completely to 0.3-micron wafer processes by the end of this [calendar] year. We will be installing quarter-micron deep-UV steppers during the next two years. We can continue to finance most of the capital investment out of current earnings. However, we also have $1 billion in cash, a $500 million line of credit, and the $500 million convertible bond issue issued in 1997. None of those funds have been touched yet.
Q: When is Micron going to start equipping its fab in Lehi, Utah, which is only a shell building at the present time?
A: Lehi is a 2.5-million-sq.-ft. complex, but only a shell -- just the perfect position we need it to be in. We haven't equipped it, and equipment is what has to be depreciated in 3-1/2 years. The building itself is very advanced, and that is what takes the long lead time, whether it is the steel structure, the power plant, or the infrastructure. That is already done. It is sitting there without any heavy depreciation there. We are planning to bring in a test operation there next year. We need more test capacity. The yield of our current sites in Boise has exceeded our expectations, so we need additional test capacity. We could do it in Boise or in Lehi, but we decided to use testing as a way to get started at Lehi. It's a lot easier to launch a new fab if you have a partial operation already at the site.
techweb.com
Micron Reports Continued Strong Demand
(07/29/97; 4:00 p.m. EDT)
By Matthew Sheerin, Electronic Buyers News
SAN FRANCISCO -- Micron Technology, which is on a roll in the 16-megabit DRAM arena, has many reasons to be upbeat about continued strong demand for its devices, a company vice president said at the Robertson, Stephens & Co. Semiconductor Conference here Wednesday.
"In the past couple of days, we've had OEMs come in and tell us that
they expect a strong second half of the year," said Kipp A. Bedard,
vice president of corporate affairs with the Boise, Idaho, chip maker.
The base RAM for a PC is increasing by about 3 percent a month, Bedard said, pointing to factors that may push that growth higher. They include:
Shipments of memory-hungry MMX-based systems were higher in May and June than had been expected;
Microsoft's Windows 98, or Memphis, will require a minimum of 64 megabytes of base memory; and
The shift to Win NT in the business environment will also boost demand for memory.
While other major DRAM makers are shifting production to 64-megabit devices, Micron continues to emphasize 16-megabit output. Bedard wouldn't predict when the price crossover of 16- and 64-megabit devices would occur, but did say: "We won't see a mass PC demand for 64-meg DRAMs until the boxes themselves get to 64-meg."
On the 64-megabit front, Bedard said the company is producing 500 wafers a week, and "The yields look real good."
techweb.com |
