Soitec celebrates Singapore fab construction
Designated Fab 3, the facility is expected to start supplying the Group's global customer base with SOI wafers in mid-2008, as it ramps to a final production capacity of one million wafers per year. Fab 3 is Soitec's first fab in Asia, and is a critical part of the Group's strategic investment plan to expand its worldwide production capacity, enhance its ongoing R&D efforts, and forge closer relationships with its customers worldwide. Attending the ceremony in Singapore's new Pasir Wafer Fab Park were notable dignitaries, including Soitec's President and Chief Executive Officer, Andre-Jacques Auberton-Herve, and Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr. S. Iswaran.
"The construction of our newest and most advanced fab, represents the success of our business strategy to drive adoption of SOI and build the production capacity necessary to satisfy growing industry demand," noted Auberton-Herve. "The performance and power-usage benefits associated with SOI are enabling a growing number of advanced electronic devices, especially leading-edge consumer digital products that are increasingly manufactured in Asia. With its strategic location in the heart of Asia, this new fab will help us develop even closer working relationships with our growing customer base in the region while also giving us access to the world-class business environment and talented workforce we were seeking in selecting the location of our third production facility."
Construction of Fab 3 will take advantage of the newest in manufacturing technologies, as well as Soitec's extensive engineered substrate production knowledge, gained from years of manufacturing experience. Fab 3 will utilize complete mini-environments in order to reduce wafer contamination risk and increase yields. The total investment in Fab 3 is expected to be approximately 350 million Euros; and when completed, it is anticipated that approximately 500 people will work inside this state-of-the-art facility. Soitec's Fab 3 is being built on 2.7 hectares with more than 4,000 square meters of clean room space, while additional land is available for future expansion. T
he Group is also currently expanding the production capacity of its Bernin II Fab in France. Ongoing capacity expansion efforts will open the door to a greater number of integrated device manufacturers, foundries and fabless companies planning to tap the powerful benefits of SOI.
