Sep 12 2007
Air Products, through its subsidiary in Korea, has signed a long-term contract to supply nitrogen to Hynix Semiconductor Inc., a leading memory chip manufacturer. The nitrogen will be supplied to a new back-end test and packaging fab which Hynix is building in theCheongju Industrial Complex,North Chungcheong Province, Korea.
Air Products will build, own and operate the nitrogen air separation plant which is scheduled to come on-stream in mid-2008.
“This contract underscores our commitment to expanding infrastructure locally to complement the business plans of our customers so as to provide a more cost-effective and reliable supply to the Asia region, which is the largest and fastest growing market for electronics,” said David Price, regional vice president and general manager of Asia Electronics, Air Products. “This project will further enhance Air Products’ position in the memory segment of the semiconductor industry, which is forecast to grow by up to 20 percent annually over the next five years.”
Hynix has two wafer fabrication plants producing flash memory chips, and one back-end test and packaging fab in Cheongju. It is now adding a second back-end unit to support the current production lines in the complex.
“This contract reaffirms our partnership with Hynix, whom we have been supplying with electronics specialty gases andchemicals, and liquid bulk gases in Korea,” said Soo Yon Lee, president of Air Products Korea. “The electronics industry is a high growth platform for Air Products, and Korea is one of the largest such markets. The new investment further reinforces our commitment and leading position in the Korean electronics market.”
The strong growth in demand of memory chips is being driven by new applications in mobile communications, automobiles, game systems, portable multimedia players and personal computer operating systems.