Expansions: Fujifilm breaks ground on EUR30mn semiconductor materials plant in Belgium; Entegris opens US$500 mn chip facility in Taiwan

Japan’s Fujifilm Corp. says that the company has broken ground on a new EUR30-million expansion at its electronic materials manufacturing site in Belgium, Fujifilm Electronic Materials (Europe) to grow semiconductor materials manufacturing capabilities in Europe.

This marks one of Europe’s biggest capital expenditure investments in the semiconductor materials supply chain over the last decade, it adds.

This expansion will substantially increase the production capacity of Fujifilm Electronic Materials, which manufactures core components and chemicals required for semiconductor manufacturing, including cleaners, polyimides, developers, and solvents. The 4,000 sq m expansion project will also increase the space for clean room R&D and quality control labs by a third, while creating a new multi-purpose space for production and warehousing. Site enhancements will also see the addition of on-site solar panels, part of meeting environmental goals set out by Fujifilm’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030.

The expansion, targeted to be complete by the end of 2024, will create 25 new roles. Established in 1992 and acquired by Fujifilm in 2004, today, Fujifilm Europe employs more than 210 staff. New jobs created include production and lab roles, in addition to highly skilled technical and academic functions, and will appeal to a broad spectrum of candidates with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) academic and professional backgrounds.

With the semiconductor market growing at an annual rate of 10%, Fujifilm has planned and announced the global investment of nearly EUR1 billion into its Electronic Materials business, including capital investment and R&D enhancements to meet expanding demand.

“As one of Europe’s biggest CapEx investments in the semiconductor material supply chain over the last decade, this expansion is an important part of developing the European semiconductor ecosystem, which will be crucial for society in delivering cutting-edge future technologies across the fields of automotive, energy management, healthcare, business, and current and future digital industries,” said Hans Vloeberghs, President & Managing Director, Fujifilm Europe.

Meanwhile, in other news US supplier of materials and process solutions for the semiconductor industry Entegris has opened a facility located in Southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Science Park. The new facility delivers critical solutions designed to solve a range of challenges facing chipmakers.

The company expects to invest a total of approximately US$500 million in the 54,000-sq-m facility that significantly increases the company’s production capabilities for advanced liquid filters, high-purity drums, and advanced deposition materials. It also features many technologies and processes designed to reduce waste, decrease water and energy consumption, and increase the use of renewably sourced electricity.

“Our new Kaohsiung facility demonstrates our commitment to serving our customers in Asia and supporting the local industry ecosystem,” said Bertrand Loy, CEO at Entegris. “We have had a presence in Taiwan for over 30 years where we have benefitted from its robust network of materials and equipment suppliers. The expansion of our footprint here helps us provide greater supply security and shorter lead times to customers across the region,” he said.

According to Alvin Hsieh, Entegris’ Taiwan country president, “Through the automation and advanced manufacturing capabilities at our new Kaohsiung facility, we will deliver solutions of the highest quality to our customers with less waste. Combined with our legacy Kaohsiung facility, all four of Entegris’ divisions are now in close proximity in the Kaohsiung Science Park. This will allow our teams to leverage process and product synergies and share resources and talent. We are excited to bring increased value to our customers, the Taiwan semiconductor industry, and the local community.”

Today, Entegris has nearly 720 full-time employees in Taiwan and expects to add several hundred more over the next few years as the new facility becomes fully operational. In addition, with the goal of expanding access to the engineering field, Entegris recently committed philanthropic funds for STEM scholarships at National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University over three years for five students at each university. These 10 students are each awarded $5,000 per year.

The new Kaohsiung facility has been designed to operate in alignment with Entegris’  sustainability goals. More than 85% of water usage from the production will be recycled for daily operations. By 2024, nearly 16% of the total electricity consumption of the facility will be generated from solar panels installed on site with the goal to achieve 100% electricity consumption generated from renewable sources by 2030.

The new facility is supported by the expanded Taiwan Technology Centre for R&D in Hsinchu, Entegris’ most active R&D centre.

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