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Technology Stocks : MEMC INT'L. (WFR -NYSE) The Sleeping Giant?
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To: Andrew Vance who wrote (4232)2/25/1999 2:06:00 PM
From: Michael McKnight  Read Replies (1) of 4697
 
Andrew, WFR has supplied some of the lowest quality wafers for all three of the semiconductor companies I have worked for over the last 11 years. (I was involved in the qualification of "starting material" personally.) That said, they are still a major player mainly due to lack of competition. (It is very hard to qualify a new wafer vendor in a fab and most engineers don't want to take on such a major task that generally is not considered a priority by their bosses.) They may have improved over the last few years but people in the business have long memories of bad situations. For example; isn't it true that INTC refuses to buy ANYTHING from WFR? (Probably due to a bad experience more that 10 years ago.) It is much easier to be disqualified than qualified as a wafer vendor.

Finally, a disagree with your remark that if there was a quality issue there would be a "measurable yield degradation". In my experience there are so many factors affecting the yields it is very, very difficult to pinpoint the main cause for yield losses. This is because most of the wafer processing equipment today will process each wafer individually and there are literally hundreds of processes required from start to finish. I believe the one reason WFR hasn't gone under is because all users CAN'T "convert immediately over to the better supplier".

All that being said, I think 7.25 isn't too bad a price... After all, even Chrysler made a come back, right? Ha ha
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