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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (41156)	12/27/2000 11:13:54 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Another blackout hits Taiwan chip makers; UMC reports generator fire Semiconductor Business News (12/27/00 09:18 a.m. EST) HSINCHU, Taiwan -- A power outage struck semiconductor manufacturers here Monday evening, causing some wafer fabs to shut down equipment temporarily and other frontend processing lines to switch over to backup generators for a couple of hours, according to authorities in Hsinchu. During the two-hour power failure, emergency electrical generators for a 200-mm fab operated by United Microelectronics Corp. overheated, causing a minor fire that resulted in NT$30 million ($9.9 million) in damages, said UMC. Work inside UMC's Fab 8E plant was impacted by the shutdown of those backup generators. According to news reports from Taiwan, the power outage was triggered when a transformer operated by Macronix International Co. Ltd. failed. The reports said Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) identified the source of the power failure, which struck a couple sectors of the Hsinchu Science Based Industrial Park at around 6:30 p.m. on Christmas evening. The blackout reportedly disrupted production in plants operated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), UMC, Mosel Vitelic, Winbond Electronics, Macronix, Philips, ProMOS Technologies, and Acer Display. It was not immediately clear how many of the impacted plants were temporarily shutdown or switched to emergency power. UMC--the world's second largest chip foundry--said it immediately took measures and brought the "situation" under control by 8 p.m., about an hour an a half after the blackout struck the Hsinchu Science Based Industrial Park. "Fortunately, no one was injured from the incident and no production lines were affected due to the fact that the generators were housed in a separate building," said UMC in a statement issued after the blackout. "The initial estimate from damaged generator equipment is approximately NT$30 million. We are also currently evaluating the impact on production due to the temporary loss in power." The Hsinchu high-tech park is home to most of Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturers, and concerns about electrical power has become a top issue among industry executives. Taiwan's chip plants have been shut down by major power outages in earthquakes and typhoons. In recent months, a number of minor power outages have plagued plants in the Hsinchu park, causing chip fabs to temporarily stop production or switch to emergency generators. Taiwan's top semiconductor executives have expressed concern about the country's power grid and the ability to keep up with growth. Taiwan's government recently rejected plans for a new nuclear power plant, which many chip makers said was urgently needed.