compiled by Angela Godwin
Cleanroom construction completed
Evergreen Engineering (Eugene, Ore.; www.evergreenengineering.com), an engineering and construction firm serving industries such as bioscience, clean manufacturing, and semiconductor, recently announced that it has completed the design and construction of HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc.’s R&D facility expansion and cleanroom project in Portland, Oregon. HemCon develops, manufactures, and markets technologies to control bleeding and infection resulting from trauma or surgery. Evergreen provided full-service design/build capabilities, including construction of the 4,500-square-foot production cleanroom and installation of the process equipment.
Strong forecast for fab equipment purchases
A forecast published recently by Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA) predicts that wafer fab equipment purchases will grow 10 percent next year, to reach $40 billion in 2007. SMA’s FabFutures report forecasts quarterly spending and capacity increases for more than 200 wafer fabs worldwide. According to the report, expected growth can be attributed to an increase in new wafer-fab construction, which began in 2004 and is expected to peak in 2007. George Burns, president of SMA, estimated the industry would bring 35 new fabs on-line by end of 2007. Burns also noted that overall capital spending by wafer fabs worldwide will reach $62 billion in 2007. For more information on the report, visit www.scfab.com.
Solar module facility planned for ‘07
M+W Zander FE GmbH (Stuttgart, Germany) has won a contract to design and construct a new thin-film solar module facility for ErSol Group, a manufacturer and distributor of photovoltaic products, in Erfurt, Germany. M+W Zander plans to have the new plant ready for equipment by the end of January 2007, and ErSol Group expects its 6,000-square-meter facility will be up and running by summer 2007.