A Japanese chip tools provider has began to reorganise its provide chains and factories in a method designed to entry each US and Chinese language markets after Washington rolled out new chip export controls.
The group chief government of Tokyo-based Ferrotec advised the Monetary Occasions that the corporate was accelerating plans to increase manufacturing exterior China in response to requests from US purchasers together with Lam Analysis and Utilized Supplies.
“Sooner or later, we want to have the ability to manufacture not solely in China, but in addition in Japan, Malaysia and presumably within the US,” mentioned He Xianhan, a local of Shanghai who has headed Ferrotec since 2020.
“The Chinese language market will develop sooner or later, so we’ll reply to Chinese language demand with our manufacturing in China. In that means, we are able to proceed being a winner,” mentioned He, conducting the interview over video from his base in Hangzhou, a metropolis in jap China.
Ferrotec’s technique to cater to each its Chinese language and US clients gives a window into how corporations which have historically gambled on China’s development are hedging their dangers because the US makes an attempt to curb Beijing’s functionality to develop superior chip know-how.
The US restrictions have pressured main American chip tools suppliers Lam Analysis, Utilized Supplies and KLA Company to droop gross sales and upkeep providers for his or her instruments to semiconductor producers in China.
Ferrotec, which produces ceramics and silicon components utilized in chips, makes 80 per cent of its merchandise in China. Whereas the corporate deliberate to keep up its massive manufacturing footprint within the nation, it could diversify its provide chains over the following two years, mentioned He.
Within the preliminary turmoil following final month’s announcement of the export controls, He mentioned Chinese language chip corporations made unsuccessful requests for Ferrotec to produce the merchandise that their US suppliers might not provide.
“However I advised them that as an OEM [original equipment manufacturer], we want a permission from the US producers [we supply to] and the Chinese language chip corporations understood our place.”
The influence of the US sanctions have additionally began to filter by means of to the Japanese firm. Just lately, a senior government of a US chipmaking tools producer mentioned it could not procure sure Ferrotec parts produced in China.
“We haven’t seen such an influence from different massive US producers however we can’t definitively say that we received’t be impacted sooner or later,” He mentioned.
The chief cited geopolitical uncertainty as one of many the explanation why Ferrotec had invested $120mn to create a brand new plant in Malaysia, which is anticipated to start out operations by subsequent September.
Established in 1980, Ferrotec posted report gross sales of ¥133bn ($938mn) and a report working revenue of ¥22bn for the yr ending in March by profiting from China’s speedy development within the semiconductors market.
The group, which raised ¥45bn from the Chinese language authorities and personal funding funds over the previous three years, plans to record 4 of its native group corporations in Shanghai and Shenzhen by 2024.
Masahiko Ishino, a senior analyst at advisory firm Tokai Tokyo Analysis Institute, mentioned that bifurcating provide chains for the US and Chinese language markets was an “inevitability of the instances”.
However he mentioned it was unclear if Ferrotec’s sequence of enormous investments within the years to come back would repay, with the worldwide chip market affected by a worldwide slowdown that had been exacerbated by the US export curbs.
