TOKYO – Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics today said it is on track to restore full capacity by next month following a plant fire, as manufacturers around the world battle to secure semiconductor supplies.
By the end of this week, the company hopes to bring production at the blaze-hit factory near here to 30% of previous capacity, before fully restoring it in May, Renesas chief Hidetoshi Shibata told reporters in an online briefing.
“We remain committed to our plan to achieve 100% in May.
“We have received help not just domestically, but from foreign suppliers. And, they have been extremely generous.
“With help from all sorts of outside groups, we miraculously have been able to come this far.”
The news comes as carmakers battle semiconductor supply problems in part because of increased demand for chips from manufacturers of laptops, tablets and gaming devices.
Renesas is a key supplier of automotive semiconductors.
It is not yet clear exactly what caused the March fire, which burnt 600 sq m of factory floor.
The Japanese government and some of Renesas’s own customers, including auto giant Toyota, have offered help.
Shibata did not discuss which firms assisted in restoring the damaged factory, and kept mum about which customers will get early supplies of semiconductors.
During a summit last Friday in Washington, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and United States President Joe Biden agreed to “partner on sensitive supply chains, including on semiconductors, promoting and protecting the critical technologies that are essential to our security and prosperity”, according to a joint statement.
Renesas closed up 4.30% to ¥1,335 (RM50.95) today, doing far better than the headline Nikkei average that ended up 0.01%. – AFP, April 19, 2021
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