Dutch chip equipment maker expands Korean operations

The new facility, which will be built next to ASM Korea’s building in Hwaseong by 2025, will be responsible for both R&D and product manufacturing.

Benjamin Loh, ASM International CEO, speaks during a press conference held Tuesday at Josun Palace hotel in southern Seoul. [ASM]

ASM International, a Netherlands-based supplier of semiconductor deposition machines, is ramping up research and development (R&D) and manufacturing capabilities in Korea with a new facility worth more than $100 million.

“Korea is a very important semiconductor market, … [with] some of the biggest semiconductor companies, that are also most advanced in the world,” said Benjamin Loh, ASM CEO, during a press conference held at Josun Palace hotel in southern Seoul on Tuesday.

The press event came a day before the company breaks ground on a new facility in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ASM and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in February.

The new facility, which will be built next to ASM Korea’s building in Hwaseong by 2025, will be responsible for both R&D and product manufacturing.

Loh named the United States, Singapore and Korea as three major markets for ASM. Korea is one of two manufacturing bases for the Dutch company, along with Singapore.

ASM specializes in equipment for atomic layer disposition (ALD), a process technology used for most advanced semiconductors.

“Equipment that we supply to our customers are much in use in the latest technology,” said Loh, stressing that “ALD has to be used if you are looking at advanced DRAM, 3D NAND, or 3-nanometer logic.”

Loh said that because Korean chipmakers are investing in the development of the most cutting-edge memory chips in the industry, ASM is working closely with local customers to further advance the technologies.

Especially, the development and manufacturing of plasma enhanced atomic layer disposition (PEALD) equipment is done exclusively in Korea. The upcoming Hwaseong facility will be also dedicated to the production of PEALD, according to Loh.

Driven by growing chip demand, ASM saw double-digit growth in revenue for the past six years.

The single-wafer ALD market, which is ASM’s major expertise, is expected to reach about $3.1 to 3.7 billion by 2025, compared to 2020’s $1.5 billion, according to the company.

Despite the current downturn in the global memory chip demand, Loh forecast the market will rebound over the next few quarters and demand will grow.

TechInsights forecast the global semiconductor market to shrink in 2023 yet rebound in terms of growth in 2024 and surpass the 2022 level by 2025.

“Semiconductors have been turned into the new oil, the one commodity that runs everything,” said Loh.

Meanwhile, ASM said that it will donate 100 million won ($76,104) to the Hwaseong City Talent Development Foundation to help foster talent in the local semiconductor industry.

ASML, a Dutch lithography equipment supplier, was jointly created by ASM International and Philips in 1984.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]