Renesas’ Naka fab to return to 100% by the end of May

During a press conference regarding the fire that struck part of the company’s Naka fab (located in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture) and the recovery of production, the management of Renesas stated that it aims to reach a production capacity of 30% by the end of this week, 50% by the end of April and return to the original 100% by the end of May. In regard to shipment of products manufactured in the N3 Building, the company says it will work to gradually return the shipment to levels before the fire. First by starting the shipment of work-in-processes which was being produced at the time of the fire. “Although this will depend on the product, following the lead time of a typical product, we stated at the March 30 press conference that we expect 100% recovery of product shipment of products manufactured in the N3 Building to customers approximately 100 days after the fire,” an update from the company reads. However, at the time of writing this, Renesas expects there to be a delay of about seven to ten days from the targeted 100 days after the fire before it reaches a full recovery of product shipment. At the same time the company says that the effects of alternative production is expected to come sooner than initially anticipated, and that the amount is larger than expected, contributing to the production. The fire that struck the N3 building damaged 23 pieces of equipment, and Renesas has been working hard to procure replacements for the damaged units. During April the company was able o confirm the procurement of 17 units. One unit is expected to be procured during May. Renesas says that these newly acquired pieces of equipment boasts higher capacity levels than the previous, which will allow the company to offset the missing four units in the short term. However, these will be procured moving forward.