The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Liu Wenlong, general manager of Lee Evergreen Chemical, said in an interview that he is actively planning the company’s largest overseas investment – to build a chemical plant in Arizona, USA.
Liu Wenlong said that Rong Hwa is in close contact with the Arizona government, and the plan to set up the plant will be finalized later this year, with the project estimated to take about two years.
Rong Hwa is a supplier to many wafer fabs around the world, including TSMC, Intel and Micron Technology, and produces Isopropyl Alcohol, which is essential to the wafer process.
We are seeing growth in demand,” he said. Major economies are beginning to understand that semiconductors are a strategic resource and that localization of the wafer supply chain is necessary. The migration and restructuring of the supply chain is something we haven’t seen in decades. People are beginning to understand that advanced wafer manufacturing can’t move forward without leading-edge wafer production equipment and chemical feedstock supplies. Every part of the ecosystem is equally important,” he said.
He said that since the chemicals used to supply advanced wafer processes do not tolerate any deterioration, but it takes 45 days for shipments from Taiwan to the U.S. to maintain quality, it makes sense to locate plants as close to customers as possible.
According to Nikkei Asia, Rong Hwa’s plant in the U.S. will meet the Washington government’s goal of supporting local chip manufacturing and moving the supply chain back to the U.S.
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