Завод в Остине занимается производством новейших однокристальных систем для различных электронных устройств. С момента запуска американского полупроводникового подразделения Samsung вложил в него 16 миллиардов долларов.
Помимо этого, Samsung увеличивает производство флэш-памяти NAND. В ближайшие дни будет открыт крупнейший в мире завод по производству такой продукции в Пхёнтайке (Южная Корея). До конца 2017 года Samsung намерен довести свою долю на глобальном рынке памяти V-NAND до 50%.
Одновременно Samsung официально объявил о начале строительства нового завода по производству бытовой техники стоимостью $380 миллионов в Ньюберри (штат Южная Каролина, США). Подписание документов состоялось накануне визита недавно избранного президента Южной Кореи Мун Джей-ина в США. Таким образом южнокорейский бизнес даёт понять, что готов вкладывать в американскую экономику в свете решений новой американской администрации во главе с президентом Трампом, пообещавшем избирателям "вернуть рабочие места в страну".
Как сообщают местные СМИ, южнокорейские компании уже объявили, что намерены вложить в развитие своего бизнеса на территории Соединённых Штатов не менее 35 миллиардов долларов в течение ближайших пяти лет.
Samsung boosts investment in Austin chip plant for 4th industrial revolution
South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics is preparing for the “fourth industrial revolution” by mass producing faster and more efficient chips for smart and connected devices with always-on displays, cementing its leadership in the global memory market.
As part of its latest move, the Korean chipmaker made around $1 billion worth of investments in its production facilities in Austin, Texas, as of this month. The facilities are operated for advanced system-on-chip products, which are supplied for mobile and other electronic devices.
Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the operator of Samsung’s chip production in the US, contributed $3.6 billion into the regional economy of central Texas in 2015, according to a local study there. The company also supported 10,755 jobs in the area and $498 million in annual salaries. Since its establishment in 1997, Samsung has invested more than $16 billion on the expansion and maintenance of its Austin facility.
The newest investment is interpreted as Samsung’s intention to enhance its system LIS chip business along with its powerful memory chip business, as it foresees growth in demand for various System-on-Chip products in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.
In order to support the production of faster and more efficient chips and processors, Samsung has unveiled a roadmap for a comprehensive foundry process technology, which aims to improve the process technology to more sophisticated levels.
Beyond the current second-generation 10-nanometer Fin FET process technology, Samsung plans to further develop an 8-nanometer process technology by this year, a 7-nanometer by 2018 and a 4-nanometer by 2020. The smaller the nanometer size, the more advanced chips with larger storage space will be.
“The inclusion of the process technologies above will enable an explosion of new devices that will connect consumers in ways never seen before,” said Yoon Jong-shik, executive vice president of the foundry business at Samsung Electronics at the Samsung Foundry Forum held in Santa Clara, US, in May.
US-based Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor is produced on Samsung’s 10-nanometer Fin FET process technology.
While continuing to invest in advancing the process technologies, Samsung is ramping up efforts to reinforce its No. 1 position in the memory market as well.
It announced earlier this month it had begun the mass production of 64-layer, 256-Gigabit V-NAND flash memory chips and would apply the cutting-edge technology to the company’s lineup of storage solutions for servers, PCs and mobile applications.
The Samsung 64-layer 3-bit 256-GB V-NAND features a data transfer speed of 1 gigabits per second, which is the fastest among currently available NAND flash memory. The new 64-layer V-NAND provides a more than 30 percent productivity gain compared to the 48-layer 256 GB V-NAND that preceded it.
Global demand for 3-D NAND flash chips is on the rise as the consumption of data on mobile devices is growing at an explosively rate. The global NAND flash market is forecast to rise 6.1 percent on average annually by 2020, according market researcher IHS Markit. Samsung is already the world’s largest NAND chip provider with a 36.7 percent market share.
The company will start operation of a new NAND chip plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, at the end of this month, in order to respond to the growing demand and help ease the current short supply.
To solidify its leadership in the memory market, Samsung intends to expand production of the latest V-NAND chips to above 50 percent of its monthly NAND production by the end of the year, the company said.
Samsung also started mass-producing a processor designed exclusively for Internet of Things platforms, another major area of the upcoming fourth industrial revolution.
The tech giant’s processor is named “Exynos i T200,” designed to support secure mobile communications among IoT platforms. Samsung hopes to expand its presence in the global IoT industry with the new processor.
“The latest announcements of the mass production of the Exynos processor and 64-layer V-NAND flash chips are part of Samsung’s moves toward the next industrial revolution, considering growing consumption of massive data,” a Samsung official said.
Samsung inks deal for US$380m appliance plant in South Carolina
Samsung Electronics officially announced on June 28 that the company will build a home appliance factory with US$380 million worth of investment in South Carolina, marking the company’s first major investment in the US since it relocated production facilities for US exports to Mexico in the early 1990s.
The announcement was made during South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Washington for his first summit with US President Donald Trump.
Yoon Boo-keun, president of the consumer electronics division of Samsung Electronics, flew to Washington, as part of a group of business leaders who accompanied the president, with the intention of making the announcement.
Yoon held a ceremony with South Carolina State Gov. Henry McMaster at a hotel in Washington to sign a letter of intent for the construction of the $380 million plant in Newberry County of South Carolina.
Samsung said it had been examining several sites to build a home appliances factory in the US for the past three years in order to secure a production stronghold for the world’s largest home appliances market.
Samsung topped the US home appliances market with a 17.3 percent share last year, beating its US rival Whirlpool, according to market researcher Traqline.
It is not the first factory to be run by Samsung in the US. The Korean electronics giant had operated small production facilities for color TVs and microwave ovens in New Jersey from 1984 through 1990. The facilities were shut down due to the completion of a larger factory in Mexico in 1991, where a majority of the company’s home appliances exported to the US market are produced.
Samsung has also been operating a production line for built-in products, which the Korean company took over from California-based Dacor last September.
The new South Carolina plant is expected to help ease mounting pressure on Korean manufacturers from the Trump administration, amid its protectionist moves.
Since early this year, rumors had been circulated that Samsung would make a move to build a new factory for home appliances in the US.
In February, US President Trump bewildered Samsung by tweeting a message, which read “Thank you, @Samsung! We would love to have you!” At the time, Samsung did not make an official response.
According to the company, it finally picked South Carolina during the second half of 2016 due to its wide pool of seasoned workers, advanced supply chains and outstanding logistical infrastructure.
By having a local production base, Samsung would be able to avoid accusations by American manufacturers like Whirlpool, which filed a petition last month to impose safeguard tariffs on Samsung products that are being produced outside the country.
Samsung aims to start operating the factory by producing washing machines early next year.
Once the facility begins full operations, it will create an estimated 950 new jobs, according to the company.
“Samsung will strengthen its 40-yearlong presence in the US by securing this new production hub,” as well as enhancing ties with American consumers, engineers and businesses,” Yoon said.
“Samsung’s investment is great news for South Carolina and the United States, and it is a direct reflection of the fact that America is becoming an even stronger destination for global businesses looking to grow,” said United States Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “I congratulate Samsung on its expansion in the United States and wish the company success as it starts up its new facility in South Carolina.”
Korean firms announce US$35b investments in US before president’s visit
Major Korean corporates including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG pledged to spend more than US$35 billion in the US in five years, prior to President Moon Jae-in’s first visit to the US, according to Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on June 29.
Samsung Electronics announced that it will invest US$380 million to build a home appliance factory in South Carolina, its first in the US. The tech giant has also earmarked US$1.5 billion for its semiconductor plant in Austin, Texas, by 2020.
LG Electronics is building a US$250 million home appliance factory in Tennessee with capacity to manufacture 1 million washing machines a year, and US$300 million headquarters in New Jersey, both by 2019.
SK plans to spend US$4.4 billion in the coming five years to further expand into the energy sector where it already has shale gas and LNG projects in Oklahoma and Texas. It has inked an MOU with GE and Continental Resource.
Hyundai Motor Group pledged that to spend US$3.1 billion to develop new automobiles and engines and advanced technologies including those for self-driving.
Doosan, CJ, LS and GS groups also unveiled plans to expand investments in the US while small and medium tech firms, such as CrucialTec and Exicon will further accelerate their foothold in the market, either through advancing technologies or securing labs and manufacturing facilities.
