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Technology Stocks : Asyst Technologies (ASYT) Good Value/Where is the Bottom? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SemiBull who wrote (2188)	10/1/2003 7:25:52 PM
From: SemiBull	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2313

'Real men need fab automation,' says Asyst founder Mark LaPedus 10/01/2003 10:00 AM EST URL: siliconstrategies.com SAN JOSE -- The semiconductor industry has a long ways to go before it reaches what some call the "lights out" fab, where a chip plant is fully automated and no longer requires people to operate the facility or the tools, according to an expert in the business. But the cost of fab automation is increasing over time, as chip plants are becoming more and more automated with both integrated systems and "best of breed" wafer-handling tools, said Mihir Parikh, the former chairman and chief executive of Asyst Technologies Inc. Parikh was also the founder of Asyst, a supplier of wafer-handling products. A sophisticated fab automation system is also becoming a major requirement in today's new and costly chip plants, said Parikh, who now runs MP Associates Inc., a consulting firm. "Real men need automation," he said during a presentation at the International Symposium on Semiconductor Manufacturing (ISSM) in San Jose on Tuesday (September 30, 2003). The former Asyst executive made a play on words, in which he was referring to the famous line, "Real men have fabs." That statement was made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Chairman W.J. Sanders III, who at one time believed that real semiconductor companies had new and costly fabs. This is not to say that the industry is moving towards the "lights out" fab. "I've been hearing about the 'lights out' fab for 20 years," he said. "I think we are a few years away from a 'lights out' fab," he added during a question and answer session after the presentation. But as chip plants become more and more automated, he did acknowledge that the fab would require fewer operators, "with a lot more intelligence" in terms of wafer handling systems. The cost of fab automation is also increasing, but not to the extent of high-ticket items like lithography tools, inspection, and chip testers. "I think the level (of cost for fab automation) is increasing," he said. In total, some 6 percent of the capital expenditures in a fab are geared for wafer-handling systems and other automation systems, he said. The worldwide market for fab-automation systems, software and services is expected to $1.5 billion in 2003. The fragmented market consists of several categories. The fully-integrated front-end market, which consists of "integrated' SMIF units, FOUPs, and robotic systems, is a $690 million industry, according to MP Associates. Each fab requires $135 million worth of integrated fab-automation systems, the firm said. The automation components market is a $75 million industry. This business includes standalone FOUPs, SMIF pods, and other products. Each fab requires $5 million worth of these units. There has been a long running battle between standalone SMIFs, FOUPs and related gear verses the integrated automated systems. "I think they will both co-exist," according to the former Asyst executive. Meanwhile, the wafer carrier handling market, which consists of AMHS, intra-bay systems, and stocker machines, is a $375 million industry in the 200-mm arena and a $575 million business in the 300-mm arena. Each fab requires $20 million worth of intra-bay gear and $30 million worth of equipment loading machines. Another significant market is manufacturing execution automation (MES), which consists fab-automation software. In total, MES is a $48 million industry and each fab requires $2-to-$5 million worth of MES hardware and $5-to-$8 million worth of MES software. The fab-automated services market is a $180 million industry. Each fab requires $10 million for equipment service and $20 million for overall fab services.