Hynix to accelerate retirement of 200mm fabs

Fabs

Hynix to accelerate retirement of 200mm fabs

Company to retire 200mm wafer fabs, which are less efficient than 300mm fab, earlier than planned to improve financial stability and focus on profitability

Sunday, September 21, 2008

ICHEON, KOREA: Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said that the company will retire 200mm wafer fabrication plant, which is less efficient than 300mm fab, earlier than planned in order to improve its financial stability and focus on profitability.

Hynix has a total of five 200mm fabs, including M7 in Icheon, M8 and M9 in Cheongju, E1 in Eugene, United States and HC1 in Wuxi, China. To accelerate the retirement of 200mm fabs, Hynix previously announced stopping operations at HC1, E1 and M9 fabs. Besides the retirement of those 200mm fabs, M7 fab, which has exclusively produced DRAM will be closed by the end of this month.

M8 fab, the last 200mm fab after retirement of other fabs, will be producing smaller volume than its original production plan of 130,000 wafers per month, focusing on specialty products. In this regard, the total production output from 200mm fabs will be significantly reduced to less than 10 percent of total capacity in the beginning of year 2009 compared to 50 percent at the end of year 2007.

By closing 200mm fabs, the total production capacity will decrease 30 percent by the beginning of next year from that of the second quarter end of this year. This feature also indicates reducing 20 percent of DRAM and 40 percent of NAND Flash outputs.

In accordance with accelerating retirement of 200mm fabs, Hynix will convert most of its production of DRAM and NAND Flash from 200mm fabs to 300mm fabs. With this move, the company will keep strengthening its stance as a leading player in the industry through technology advancement and cost competitiveness while improving cash flow and profitability.

©CIOL Bureau