ST breaks ground on China back-end plant

STMicroelectronicsthis week broke ground on the site of its future chip packagingand test facility in Longgang, Guangdong Province, China. Among senior local officials present at the groundbreaking were of Shenzhen City Mayor Xu Zong Heng and Senior Executive Vice Mayor Liu Ying Li.

The Longgang site is designed to house up to 40,000sqm of manufacturingspace, with a capacity for approximately 5000 employees. The first 20,000sqm building is expected to be completed by the end of September 2008, with manufacturing equipment to be installed in Q4 2008.

In its first year of operation, the Longgang packaging and test plant is expected to produce more than 800 million units. The output can scale to more than 10 billion units per year at full ramp-up, which would represent around 20 percent of ST's current total back-end production. The Longgang plant will primarily assemble and test ST's power conversion devices for use by ST's customers worldwide.

"The Longgang plant will further strengthen ST's presence and influence in the world's fastest growing economic zone, enabling us to better address the expanding needs of both local and foreign customers' operations in China, in the region and around the world," said Alain Dutheil, chief operating officer and vice chairman of the corporate executive committee, STMicroelectronics. "The new back-end facility will significantly reinforce ST's world-class manufacturing machine and enhance our competitiveness by expanding our presence in China's exciting market."