Wolfson Expands in Japan with New R&D Centre

Wolfson Microelectronics, a mixed-signal IC provider, expands its footprint in Japan by opening the company's Semiconductor Development Centre in Yokohama.

The centre is staffed by a team of experienced mixed-signal engineers, whose expertise will expand and enhance Wolfson's product portfolio and help ensure the company's continued growth in Japan, one of the world's most advanced consumer electronics market.

"The new Development Centre presents an excellent opportunity to affirm our presence in Japan and ensure our proximity to new and existing Japanese customers," said Mike Hickey, CEO, Wolfson, said. "Japan is at the forefront of a wide range of consumer electronics technologies, including printers, digital still cameras, mobile phones and gaming consoles. With our recently-recruited team of engineers, we will strengthen relationships with our customers in Japan, designing and developing solutions which will help them continue to create revolutionary consumer electronics products."

The Development Centre is located within Wolfson's Yokohama facility, and complements the existing sales organization in Japan.

Hemlock Begins Construction on New Silicon Production Plant

The Hemlock Semiconductor Group has begun construction at its new plant in Clarksville, Tenn. The facility is projected to be completed in 2012.

Hemlock Semiconductor's new facility features an investment of up to $1.2 billion, and it will create 500 full-time jobs and more than 800 construction jobs. The site will contain over 150,000 cubic yards of concrete and 20,000 tons of structural steel, and more than 1 million feet of piping.

Initially, the new site will have the capacity to manufacture greater than 10,000 metric tons of polysilicon, with the ability to expand production up to 21,000 metric tons, Hemlock says. Most of the polysilicon produced at this facility will be consumed by firms in the solar industry.

Michigan-based Hemlock Semiconductor is a joint venture between Dow Corning Corp. and two Japanese companies, Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp.

The celebration event comes on the heels of a July groundbreaking at Austin Peay State University for a new state-of-the-art chemical engineering technology building, of which, Hemlock Semiconductor contributed $2 million for laboratory equipment. A new associate’s degree program, recently approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents, will train future chemical process operators for the new site and other industries in the region.

Hemlock Semiconductor is continuing the process of qualifying suppliers of material and labor and will continue to expand its contractor base over the coming months. Interested parties should visit www.hscpoly.com and complete the Vendor/Supplier inquiry form.

When completed, this new site will employ approximately 500 people. Job postings will be listed at hscpoly.com. The types of positions that will be available are as follows:

degreed and experienced chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers,
experienced and certified journeypersons in various skilled trades disciplines, including, electrical, instrumentation, power pack/power distribution, process information control systems, pipefitters/welders, millwrights, and machinist trades,
specially-trained chemical process operators.

Initially, the new site will have the capacity to manufacture greater than 10,000 metric tons of polysilicon, with the ability to expand production up to 21,000 metric tons. Most of the polysilicon produced at this facility will be consumed by firms in the solar industry.

Freescale Sells Facilities in France & Japan

Freescale Semiconductor plans to sell two older chip factories, one each in Toulouse, France, and Sendai, Japan, becoming the latest chip maker to seek ways to reduce costs amid the global recession.

The company, formerly the chip division at Motorola, has tapped the semiconductor sales division of Colliers International, ATREG, to conduct the sale, it said in a statement.

Freescale is looking for a deal that includes a chip supply agreement, the kind of deal contract chip makers often look for when buying older factories. The two facilities produce chips on 6-inch wafers.

The sale would reduce the total number of chip fabrication plants run by Freescale to four, according to information on its Web site.

IDT Outsources Chip Manufacturing to TSMC

Chip makers often look for ways to cut costs during economic downturns.

In August, Integrated Device Technology (IDT) agreed to outsource chip manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), a move that means its Oregon chip factory will be sold or shut within the next two years. TSMC did not opt to buy the factory.

The company will no longer manufacture chips after the Oregon plant is offloaded. It will become a pure chip designer.

Earlier this year, the chairman of TSMC, Morris Chang, predicted over 20 chip factories will be shut due to the global recession and as companies outsource production instead of upgrading old factories. Upgrading old factories can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and new state-of-the-art 12-inch chip factories cost around US$4 billion, depending on the size and technology inside.

EpiWorks Wafer-Maker Builds New Cleanroom

EpiWorks, a wafer manufacturer based in Champaign, IL, plans to finish completion on a new cleanroom by December 1. The company manufactures specially treated gallium arsenide and indium phosphide wafers that are used in cell phones and in medical and industrial lasers. The wafers are produced in a 5,000 sq. ft. cleanroom. Altogether the company occupies 25,000 sq. ft. in two buildings.

The owners of EpiWorks hope that the expansion will allow them to hire 10 employees in 2010 and another 20-30 in 2011.

Intersil, Georgia Tech Opens Analog Center

Intersil Corp. and Georgia Institute of Technology have entered a broad alliance that includes the opening of new development facility and the kickoff of several new programs dedicated to R&D of advanced power management semiconductor technologies.

This alliance involves an on-campus Analog Processing Center of Excellence (ACE) and research efforts across multiple Georgia Tech facilities. A keystone of the alliance will be the opening of a 400m² (4,300 sq. ft.) ACE on campus. At the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), Intersil engineers, along with Georgia Tech students and faculty, will focus on creating advanced power management circuit designs. Intersil and the institute will also engage in joint development through a strategic alliance on advanced process technology development for semiconductors used in high-voltage power management and distribution. The new center will also use a technique developed at a Georgia Tech-founded company known as collaborative signal processing that removes performance-limiting impairments such as signal loss, dispersion, skew and noise.

This initiative is expected to spawn significant power savings in the electrical grid and tomorrow's data centers. The partnership is built on Intersil's longstanding leadership as an expert in the development of power management technologies and recent research advances in semiconductor fabrication processes.

"The clean and efficient generation, transmission and storage of power are key challenges of the twenty-first century," said Dave Bell, CEO, Intersil. "Intersil is delighted to be working closely with one of the world's finest educational institutions to develop innovative technologies that will meet our needs for smarter, greener and more efficient power solutions."

As energy costs soar and greenhouse gases accumulate, there is an increasing need for higher-voltage, higher-performance semiconductor technologies for power grids worldwide. Intersil and Georgia Tech are creating a strategic alliance to co-develop high-voltage power management circuits using breakthrough process technologies. In addition, Intersil will fund two graduate fellowships in electrical engineering.

"Georgia Tech's partnership with Intersil is an ideal example of academic and industrial leaders joining forces to co-develop advanced real-world technologies," said GP Peterson, Georgia Tech president. "Working together, we will develop sustainable energy solutions and create jobs."

The new ACE is a spinout of GEDC and is located in the Centergy One building in Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus. The facility already employs eight engineers who use CAD tools to do complex analog systems simulation.

Microsemi to Close Manufacturing Facility

Microsemi Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high performance analog mixed signal integrated circuits and high reliability semiconductors, announced consolidation plans that will result in the closure of its manufacturing facility in Scottsdale, Arizona by April 2011. The company said that the action is part of its ongoing program to reduce inventory levels and improve its overall cost structure and business model as it grows in both new and existing markets.

Microsemi expects that after the consolidation activities are completed in 18 months, annual savings benefiting operating income will range from $20 million to $25 million. The gross margin impact related to these savings would have equated to 400 to 500 basis points when applied to fiscal year 2009 consensus revenue estimates.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, Microsemi expects to record one-time charges for restructuring and other reserves of between $24 million and $26 million for severance and related benefits, lease termination and facility closure costs. Additional consolidation costs of $3 million may be incurred over the closure period. These costs will not impact the company's non-GAAP guidance for its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. The company reiterates that the first quarter ending December 27, 2009 will be the final one in which transitional idle capacity will be used in describing financial performance.

The Scottsdale facility's remaining product lines will be transferred to other Microsemi facilities similar to other transfers that have occurred to date. Microsemi will obtain all required DSCC certifications related to the closure and expects to transfer production throughout the consolidation period. Microsemi will collaborate closely with its customers to ensure an efficient transition.

"Microsemi is committed to optimizing its business model and cost structure as we increase the scope of our existing business, expand into new markets and grow both organically and via acquisition," said James J. Peterson, Microsemi President and Chief Executive Officer. "As Microsemi extends its leadership in a range of global markets, we will also remain diligent in ensuring that we continue to provide the highest level of service to our customers while we protect and enhance both our near- and long-term profitability."

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