INFRASTRUCTURE Features Special First Report in Series on Fab Site Selection
BusinessWire, Monday, February 09, 1998 at 10:54
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 1998--INFRASTRUCTURE, the
independent research and analyst group which provides expert
information on the semiconductor, FPD and related industries, is
pleased to announce that its February issue of the popular newsletter
includes part one of a three part series on semiconductor wafer fab
site selection.
It also includes a commentary on current market conditions and
special reports on companies and industries analyzed within the
semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sectors.
The series on fab site selection is guest written by two
independent experts in the field, with the first article in the
February issue being on the topic of the Cost of Ownership impact of
site selection.
Carl Johnson, INFRASTRUCTURE's president, commented, "The
escalating cost of wafer fab construction will soon make wafer fabs
the most capital intensive segment of any industry in the world."
Johnson added, "As fab costs increase, the financial implications
associated with site selection and development become more and more
important to the ability of a company to grow and deliver a
predictable and steady stream of earnings."
The article identifies the issues and opportunities faced when a
fab site is selected by semiconductor companies like Intel
Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC); Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT); Texas
Instruments (NYSE:TXN); IBM (NYSE:IBM); Digital Equipment Corporation
(NYSE:DEC); and Micron Technology (NYSE:MU). Of course, no
discussion of this topic would be complete without including the
Korean companies' ventures outside of Korea.
While attending the NationsBanc Montgomery Securities Tech Week
Conference recently, the INFRASTRUCTURE staff were able to analyze
several companies and industry sectors. One interesting sector has
been the Contract Manufacturing or Electronic Manufacturing Services
(EMS) industry.
Ron Leckie, INFRASTRUCTURE's CEO, commented, "While the total
cost of goods for the electronics industry as a whole is only growing
at a 9 percent level, the EMS industry is growing at an incredible 27
percent rate thanks to this increase in manufacturing out-sourcing."
He added, "This is being driven by the forces of cost reduction,
faster product life cycles, complexity and fast time-to-market."
The companies featured include: SCI Systems, Inc. (NYSE:SCI);
Solectron Corporation (NYSE:SLR); Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBIL);
Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEXF); SMART Modular
Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMOD) and Sanmina Corporation
(NASDAQ:SMOD).
Another sector reviewed in the newsletter is the integrated
circuit photomask industry. Carl Johnson noted, "The photomask
industry has been growing at better than 20 percent per year and was
one of the strongest segments during the '96 downturn." Specific
discussion centers around two of the leading suppliers in that
business, namely: Photronics, Inc., (NASDAQ:PLAB) and DuPont
Photomask, Inc., (NASDAQ:DPMI).
Other items in this month's newsletter include an analysis of
Orbotech Ltd. (NASDAQ:ORBKF); a commentary on current financial
market conditions; discussions on technology trends of both the
front-end and back-end semiconductor equipment sectors; and an update
of INFRASTRUCTURE's successful model portfolio which has enjoyed a
CAGR of over 32 percent since inception over four years ago.
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