March 29, 2007 – The Fab Owners Association (FOA), a collection of an association of mainly second-tier semiconductor manufacturers, has expanded its roster with the addition of Microchip Technology Inc., a provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, and analog/mixed-signal firm Skyworks Solutions Inc.

“We are joining the FOA’s membership to exchange best-practice knowledge, as part of our relentless drive to further optimize cycle times and exceed customer expectations,” said Dave Lambert, VP of Microchip’s fab operations, in a statement.

Maintaining competitiveness in the US semiconductor manufacturing industry was an important reason for Skyworks joining the FOA, stated Terry Pope, Skyworks Solutions VP of semiconductor manufacturing. “To do this requires that companies take advantage of every opportunity to reduce input costs, maximize efficiency of fab tools, and minimize the cost to maintain top factory performance,” and the FOA provides a forum for best practices and aggregated efficiencies, he said.

In addition to its two newest members, the FOA’s device maker membership represents approximately 1.0 million wafer starts/month (200mm-equivalent) and over $24 billion in annual revenue. Companies include AMI Semiconductor, Cypress Semiconductor, Delphi Microelectronics Center, Fairchild Semiconductor, Freescale Semiconductor, International Rectifier, Intersil, Jazz Semiconductor, MagnaChip Semiconductor, Micrel Semiconductor, Microchip Technology, NXP, ON Semiconductor, Skyworks Solutions, Spansion, and ZMD AG.

Major FOA efforts include exploring manufacturing efficiencies through such efforts as collaborative purchasing efficiencies, an online member to member marketplace for surplus used manufacturing equipment (launched earlier this year), and collaboration on solving common manufacturing problems.