Powertech to boost CAPEX by 50% to meet demand for memory
Chip testing and packaging provider Powertech Technology Inc has revealed it will spend USD 460 million on advanced capacity and equipment.
The Japanese OSAT firm says its order books are overflowing thanks to demand for advanced memory chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) products. As a result it has upped its CAPEX spend by 50% from the USD 300 million it announced just three months ago.
It plans to assign a significant portion of the cash to advanced flip chip ball grid array technology packaging capacity for higher-density and faster advanced DRAM DDR5 chips. DRAM packaging and testing services accounted for 24 percent of the company’s total revenue last quarter, while NAND flash memory chips made up 28 percent. Logic packaging and testing services accounted for 37 percent.
Boris Hsieh, Powertech CEO, told investors: “We are seeing a recovery in market demand as well as new business opportunities. We will spend heavily on advanced packaging equipment. We will focus on ramping up advanced technologies we have developed in the past few years. We believe PTI will begin to harvest its investments in advanced technologies this year.”
Powertech was founded in 1997 and now serves international customers with services including chip bumping, chip probing, IC assembly, final testing, burn in, and system level assembly. In 2017 PTI expanded its offering to the automotive electronics and IoT markets. And in 2018, it began the construction of a Fan Out Panel Level Package manufacturing facility in Hsinchu Science Park.
