Shanghai, China. – China policy makers have targeted repurposed and renewed fabs utilizing new and refurbished process equipment as a key element in the national goal to “close the chip gap.” The chip gap is created by China’s enormous IC consumption (China has been the largest consumer of semiconductors since 2007) and the still-fledgling IC manufacturing industry that produces less than 10 percent of the country’s IC needs. Through national government policies, such as $586 billion National Economic Stimulus plan and the 2008-2020 National Technology Development Planning program – and regional investment plans by provincial governments – China will invest billions over the next several years into repurposing and refurbishing 200 mm and 300 mm fabs, utilizing primarily used and refurbished equipment.

 

“The recent global financial crisis has taken about 50 fab lines off production around the world, significantly expanding the availability of used tools. China will leverage these industry changes and become the largest buyer of refurbished equipment in the world, relying upon the secondary market and service providers to drive much of their future manufacturing capacity goals, and support for the implementation of new processes in application areas like MEMS, LED, solar, medical and others,” said Eduard Hoeberichts, CEO of SIMAX Global Services, and chairman of the SEMI Secondary Equipment Services and Technology Group (SESTG). “Many challenges remain, however, in fully utilizing the secondary market for sustainable industry growth, including intellectual property rights, the availability of quality resellers and refurbishers, integrating new and used equipment into mixed lines, software and service support, and other issues.”