Web sites peddle surplus chip gear in Japan
By Yoshiko Hara
EE Times
(08/01/02 07:00 p.m. EST)
TOKYO — The surplus semiconductor equipment market is getting a boost in Japan through two recently created Web sites intended to promote the exchange of information related to used semiconductor equipment.
The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) has launched an English language Web site that serves as a platform for the exchange of information about surplus semiconductor-manufacturing systems and equipment.
Separately, Semiconductor Portal Inc. opened a Japanese-language site in cooperation with Taiwan-based Osin Net Corp. All the information is available in English at the Osin Web site.
When major Japanese semiconductor manufacturers offered a wide range of chips, they would migrate their production equipment from leading-edge process lines to older lines based on the maturity of the products. With the recent severe cutback in product portfolios, however, some lines have been integrated and some have been closed. Manufacturers now have difficulty absorbing surplus facilities internally, reported ED Research Co. Ltd., a Tokyo-based research, consulting and publishing company, in its recent market analysis on surplus semiconductor equipment.
JEITA's Web site is an English-language version of a Japanese-language site launched last September by the semiconductor surplus equipment information subcommittee of JEITA's Semiconductor Industrial Affairs Committee.
The 16-member JEITA semiconductor committee is composed of Asahi Kasei Microsystems, Fuji Electric, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Kawasaki Microelectronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Oki Electric Industry, Ricoh, Rohm, Sanyo Electric, Seiko-Epson, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba.
Companies, organizations and educational institutions involved in semiconductor businesses or research can register at the Web site and access the information using passwords provided by JEITA.
Since last September, 324 companies including 20 overseas companies have registered on JEITA's Japanese-language Web site. The English site was opened due to heavy demand from overseas, a JEITA spokesman said.
"This is the industry's open Web site, which carries neutral and transparent information to widely invite access from the semiconductor industry," said the spokesman.
JEITA estimated that the potential market for used semiconductor manufacturing equipment in Japan would grow to about $250 million, up from its current size of about $170 million. Still, the market's current size is estimated to be about one-tenth that of the market for surplus equipment in the United States.
The JEITA site provides information on surplus systems, but the parties involved have to arrange for system refurbishing, remodeling, shipment and installation themselves.
On the other hand, Semiconductor Portal intends to offer a program that includes all of those services.
"For surplus equipment trading, someone has to provide services to do all of the troublesome procedures. Semiconductor Portal will find what the barriers are that hinder trade and will offer the solution," said Naoko Tani, vice president of Semiconductor Portal.
Remaining neutral
A JEITA spokesman said, however, that some companies prefer a more neutral Web site that is independent of a particular corporate sponsor.
Semiconductor Portal describes itself as a kind of an industry consortium of Japanese major device manufactures and equipment manufactures. It is supported by the 17 shareholders, many of whom also support the JEITA site: Advantest, Applied Materials Japan, Compaq Computer, Dai Nippon Printing, Ebara, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Electronics, NEC, Rohm, Samsung Electronics, Sony, Tokyo Electron, Tokyo Seimitsu, Toppan Printing and Toshiba.
Semiconductor Portal was founded in February 2001 with strong support from Toshiba Corp., and the Toshiba group holds a large share in the company. Susumu Koyama, president of Semiconductor Portal, is concurrently serving as executive vice president of Toshiba Semiconductor.
Semiconductor Portal has a more optimistic outlook on the used-equipment market than JEITA, projecting that the market this year will grow to $250 million. By 2006, the company expects that the market will grow to about $838 million, or about half the size of the U.S. market. |
