Date: 24/04/2012

Toshiba to rebuild chip plant in Thailand at safer place

Toshiba Corporation has announced that it will rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing operations in Thailand by relocating Toshiba Semiconductor Thailand Co., Ltd. (TST) to a new manufacturing facility.

TST carries out back-end processes-assembly and packaging-for small signal devices and photocouplers. Small signal devices control current and voltage in digital consumer products.

The new facility to be located at the 304 Industrial Park, Prachinburi, approximately 140km northeast of Bangkok and to replace TST's facilities at Bangkadi Industrial Park in Pathumthani, in the suburbs immediately north of Bangkok. The new site is at 15 to 20 meters above sea level and outside Thailand's main drainage basins, with no major rivers, so it offers TST advantages in the viewpoint of business continuity planning (BCP). Construction of a 2-story building will begin in July, on a lot with an area of approximately 135,000 square meters, 1.4 times the size of the Bangkadi lot.

The plant is scheduled for completion next spring and mass production is slated to start in the second quarter (April-June) of 2013.

Toshiba says the initial investment of the facility including the cost of the construction will be largely met by flood insurance settlements and is not expected to impact on the results of Toshiba's semiconductor business.