
Despite concerns echoed by TSMC’s, Morris Chang that capacity expansions could be affected by delays in equipment shipments from Japan and in particular from Tokyo Electron (TEL) as it is a key supplier, TEL has said today that three facilities affected should be operational again over the next four weeks.
TEL said that three facilities were affected, primarily by infrastructure issues such as power and water.
At Tokyo Electron Tohoku, the company noted that minimal damage had been reported, with operations expected to resume in two weeks, dependent on suppliers’ production schedules. Tokyo Electron Tohoku builds thermal processing systems and is located in Oshu City.
Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute operations are expected to resume in one week, once the water supply is restored, according to TEL.
The worst affected is Tokyo Electron AT, which build etch systems in Matsushima City. TEL noted that operations were expected to resume in two to four weeks, though details to the problems were not disclosed.
TEL cautioned that dates given for operations to restart were dependent upon infrastructure and supplier status. In the meantime, TEL has decided to expand production areas for etch systems in the unaffected Yamanashi factory.
TEL said that it had over 600 suppliers, and were continuously assessing their status.