May 29, 2003 – Munich, Germany – Wacker-Chemie GmbH will buy Nippon Steel’s stake in their chip joint venture, which has silicon wafer production plants in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southern Japan, and Malaysia, reported Dow Jones.
The Wacker-Chemie group also plans to halt 6-in. wafer-manufacturing lines in Yamaguchi around the middle of next year, and end production of 8-in. wafers in Malaysia by the end of this year.
The steps are part of Wacker-Chemie’s efforts to improve profitability in the silicon wafer business by optimizing production operations worldwide, the companies said.
The joint venture was formed in November 2000, when Wacker-Chemie took a 55% stake in Nippon Steel’s wholly owned silicon wafer unit. Wacker NSCE, which employs about 1000 workers, earned revenue of about 20 billion yen last year.