SAN DIEGO, Nov. 10 -- In order to keep up with the demand for excimer laser light source chambers, Cymer Inc. has decided to build a manufacturing facility dedicated to chamber refurbishment -- a routine light source maintenance procedure. The 25,000-sq-ft facility will be built in the Eyon Hansan Industrial Park in Pyongtaek, South Korea, and will be fully operational by January of 2002, said Cymer. The plant will refurbish about 350 chambers for Korean semiconductor manufacturers during its first year of operation, the company said.
Initial investments for the new facility, including property, construction and equipment costs, will fall somewhere between $7 and $8 million, said Cymer, with total capital expenditures reaching about $10 million over the first five years of production.
Cymer will begin hiring for the new facility during the second quarter of next year and expects to hire 16 new employees during the first year of operation. Employees hired for the facility will be trained at Cymer's headquarters in San Diego.