Toshiba on August 29 announced that its Thailand-based Group company TST (Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand) has completed its relocation to a new semiconductor manufacturing facility and started mass production, marking the company's full recovery from the flooding of 2011.

The new factory is 140km north-east of Bangkok, a state-of-the art facility in the 304 Industrial Park in Prachinburi. Construction started in July 2012, limited production began in April 2013, and the facility is now operating at its current target capacity. At 1.4 times the size of the flood-damaged plant, the new facility and its cutting-edge production equipment will allow TST and Toshiba to secure greater operating efficiency and higher productivity, while at the same time offering room for expansion that will allow the company to respond quickly and flexibly to growth in market demand, the company said.

TST carries out backend processes, the assembly and packaging of small signal devices and photocouplers, both product areas where strong demand growth is anticipated. Small signal devices control current and voltage in digital consumer products and are essential components of products such as smartphones and tablets, and photocouplers are widely used in industrial products, including inverters.

Commenting on the new plant, Yasuo Ashizawa, president of TST said, "We are all delighted that the new plant is now up and running. I thank the Thai authorities for all the support we have received for our relocation, the construction company for its dedication and efficiency, and, most of all, our employees, who have stayed with, made the move to this new plant, and made every effort to get it up and running. We have rebuilt capacity with more modern, more productive equipment, and we look forward to supporting a new round of expansion in Toshiba Group's discrete business."

TST was forced to halt production in October 2011 when its factory in the Bangkadi Industrial Park in Patumtani, immediately north of Bangkok, was inundated by flood waters. During this forced suspension of operations, Toshiba transferred production to its facilities in Japan and Malaysia, and utilized outsourcing. With the opening of the new TST facility, Toshiba plans to gradually reintegrate these relocated operations.

Toshiba is revitalizing its discrete device business by boosting efficiency to secure improved profitability. Measures to date include adopting to larger wafers and securing higher output in the front-end process, and accelerating the overseas transfer of the backend process. The new TST facility will improve cost competitiveness in the backend process, strengthen the bottom line, and contribute to the overall strength of the discrete business unit, the company said.

By: DocMemory
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