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SilTerra upbeat over 2006 growth
By RUPA DAMODARAN
The New Straits Times Press
URL: PDF version
SILTERRA Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a wafer foundry majority-owned by Khazanah Nasional
Bhd, is optimistic of achieving good growth next year, given the positive outlook within the global semiconductor industry.
Its sales and marketing director (Asia) Koh Meng Kong said the Kulim-based company is well positioned to offer its main stream foundry technologies for the ‘hot’ markets.
Its range of hot products includes those found in low-cost notebook computers, the iPOD music machine,
cellphones, digital cameras, personal media players, LCD TVs, PDA phones, the Apple iBook and the XBOX360 game console.
“With our 0.13, 0.18 and 0.22 micron feature size in our wafer technology, we will be able to meet the demands of
consumer product chipset, display drivers, wireless transceiver as well as wired/networking product chipset,” he said in a media briefing at Balai Berita in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
SilTerra’s Fab 1, an award-winning 200mm facility, is designed with a maximum capacity of 40 thousand wafers per month.
The facility utilises 100 per cent scanner photolithography equipment and IS able to manufacture wafer technology down to 0.13 micron process geometry. |
KOH:
"We expect to reach our
maximum production of
40,000 wafers per month
next year"
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“We expect to reach our maximum production capacity of 40,000 wafers per month next year,” Koh said.
The company’s sales revenue rose 83 per cent to RM571.14 million for the year ended December 31 2004 from the previous year, while its total volume of wafers shipped during the year went up by 54 per cent year-on-year.
SilTerra’s industry-leading high voltage process technology accounts for a sizeable portion of the company’s sales revenue.
Koh has earmarked Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong as his main marketing priorities in the Asian market to brand SilTerra and Malaysia in front-end processing in the semiconductor supply chain through wafer processing and IC design.
SilTerra has used the advantage of its wafer foundry to form two design alliances this year with Essensium (Belgium) and Goyatek (Taiwan).
On the outlook for the wafer foundry business in 2006, he said demand has been going strong from the third quarter of 2005 and it is expected to go through the first quarter of next year.
According to technology research firm IDC, the global semiconductor industry production value will edge up 8 per cent next year, up from 5 per cent this year and it will be led by the foundry sector, where double-digit growth is expected.
Market research company iSuppli has also raised its 2005 chip market growth forecast from US$227 billion (US$1 = RM3.78) to US$237 billion, or 4.4 per cent growth.
About Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.:
Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is a leading semiconductor wafer foundry that provides advanced foundry standard CMOS logic, high-voltage and
mixed-signal/RF technologies. The company’s wafer fab has a designed capacity of 38,000 eight-inch wafers per month.
Silterra, which is committed to world-class service and environmental friendliness, received Notable Mention in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award competition for Environmental Performance in 2003. The company is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 certified. Silterra’s headquarters and factory are located in
Kulim, Malaysia, and has offices in San Jose (California), Scottsdale (Arizona) and Hsinchu (Taiwan). For additional information on Silterra or its services, please visit
www.silterra.com.
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