July 28, 2011
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
Fuji Electric Undertakes Capital Investment to Boost Front-End
Production Capacity of Power Semiconductors
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (“Fuji Electric” or “the Company”) announced today that it will undertake capital investment toward boosting its front-end production capacity for power semiconductors.
1. Details
- Fuji Electric will redeploy its Yamanashi Factory, located in Minami Alps City, Yamanashi Prefecture, as a second front-end production center for power semiconductors in Japan. An eight-inch wafer processing line will be newly installed at the factory, which previously manufactured magnetic discs.
- Through this move, Fuji Electric plans to raise production capacity by 12,000 eight-inch wafers per month (equivalent to 22,000 six-inch wafers per month).
2.Amount of capital investment
18.5 billion yen
3. Commencement of facility operations
Scheduled to begin from May 2012
4. Background and objective
- The usage of power semiconductors, which can contribute to saving energy, is spreading to a wide range of fields including industrial-use machinery such as machine tools and robots; hybrid and electric vehicles; consumer electronic products; and new energy fields such as solar and wind power generation. As a result, demand for power semiconductors is growing rapidly. Responding to this market environment, Fuji Electric intends to increase its production capacity with an eye toward expanding sales in fiscal 2012.
- Fuji Electric’s front-end production system in Japan comprises one factory, the Matsumoto Factory located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. By redeploying the Yamanashi Factory to establish a second front-end production base in Japan, the Company will disperse the risks related to earthquakes, power supply, and other factors to better ensure a stable supply of products to customers.
- While this investment is intended to boost front-end production capacity, Fuji Electric is also considering, from the standpoint of local production for local consumption, the possibility of capital investment in back-end production facilities in China and other markets in Asia. The Company plans to formulate a policy on this matter this autumn.
