14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba was one of the corporations who lost a factory during the Thai floods in 2011, so it has decided to rebuild it in a different area.
The facility belonged to Toshiba's sub-division Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand Co., Ltd. (TST), which was established in 1990.
Once the new fab is built, TST will be able to resume its activities: back-end assembly and packaging for small signal devices and photocuplers.
“Toshiba Group is promoting a revitalization of its discrete device business aimed at boosting efficiency and profitability,” the company's announcement says.
“Measures deployed to date include transitioning to larger wafers and higher output in the front-end process, and accelerating the overseas transfer of the back-end process. Construction of the new TST facility will improve cost competitiveness in the back-end process, strengthen the bottom line and contribute to the overall strength of the discrete business unit.”
The factory will be created at the 304 Industrial Park, Prachinburi, approximately 140 km northeast of Bangkok.
For those who don't know, the previous factory was in Bangkadi Industrial Park in Pathumthani, the suburbs just north of Bangkok.
What's more, since it is starting from scratch, Toshiba is treating this as an opportunity to make the factory more productive and efficient.
The new site is 15 to 20 meters above sea level too, as well as outside Thailand's main drainage basins.
The building will have two stories and construction will kick off in July, on a lot with an area of about 135,000 square meters (1.4 times the size of the Bangkadi lot). Flood insurance settlements will largely account for the expenses, meaning that Toshiba's semiconductor business will not incur losses because of the new construction project.
The new factory will be completed in spring, 2013, but mass production will only kick off in the second quarter. It isn't totally clear what the 1,400 employees of Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand will do in the meantime.