Fab 12A in Tainan, Taiwan, is among 17 new sites joining the global lighthouse network
HSINCHU, Taiwan–( BUSINESS WIRE )– United Microelectronics (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (UMC), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced… announced the selection of its flagship Fab 12A factory in Tainan, Taiwan, to participate in the World Semiconductor Manufacturing Championship. The Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network, a group of 189 sites identified as models in leveraging Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies to enhance operational productivity, efficiency and sustainable manufacturing. Fab 12A, UMC's largest production and R&D site, is the world's first semiconductor foundry to earn the Lighthouse designation.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114984209/en/
Infographic: More than 48 Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions have been deployed at UMC's Fab 12A to enhance productivity and operational efficiency. (Chart: Business Wire)
Lighthouses are appointed by an independent panel of experts based on their effective use of artificial intelligence, industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), big data analytics, and other digital technologies. The Al-Manara Global Network, co-founded by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company in 2018, spans more than 30 countries and 35 sectors.
UMC formed a dedicated Smart Manufacturing division in 2017, and appointed Fab 12A to be the lead company for digital transformation initiatives, which are subsequently rolled out to other UMC sites. To date, more than 48 4IR solutions have been successfully integrated into Fab 12A operations and value chain, with approximately 95% developed or customized internally. As a result, Fab 12A reduced design batch delivery time by 57%, increased product throughput to 97%, and increased workforce efficiency by 47%1, significantly enhancing customer engagement, quality and profitability.
“We are honored to be recognized by the World Economic Forum as a leader in adopting smart manufacturing solutions at scale to transform our businesses,” said TS Wu, UMC Vice President and Chief Digital Office. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is at the heart of UMC's sustainable development, ensuring our ability to meet customer demands in an increasingly competitive market. Smart manufacturing is also about enabling our employees to focus on higher value work and optimizing the use of resources to reduce environmental impact. We are excited to serve as a beacon for other manufacturers seeking to harness digital tools as well as learn from other beacons in the network.
UMC focuses on the production of specialty semiconductors, which have higher value but pose complex manufacturing challenges thanks to their unique functionality and stringent performance specifications. Deployed 4IR use cases have helped overcome these challenges and expand customer engagement in UMC's niche portfolio, enhancing the company's overall profitability.
To speed up time to market for customers, UMC leveraged machine learning tools to shorten the lead time to create a design suite for new manufacturing processes by more than half. To ensure the accuracy and timely delivery of the photomasks, UMC developed an AI-powered platform to simplify data processing between the company, the customer and the photomasks vendor.
In order to reduce cycle time, UMC deployed a predictive machine learning model and an intelligent gas diffusion system to target key chokes. In addition, an intelligent defect root cause analysis system, incorporating intelligent image recognition and AI-based automatic decision-making tools, was created to quickly identify process weaknesses and suspected tool issues. This system has greatly increased efficiency in identifying the root cause of a defect and troubleshooting tools, effectively improving productivity.
The Fab 12A site spans three separate but connected factories, with in-house production enabled by an automated intelligent material handling system (AMHS). With 3,000 pieces of equipment and 68 million possible paths a chip can take throughout the manufacturing process, UMC has integrated AI algorithms with the AMHS standard to automatically set the optimal path. This enhanced the efficiency of workers and improved the utilization rate of tools and transportation vehicles.
See the World Economic Forum's announcement of the latest wave of new members joining the Global Lighthouse Network, including the UMC.
About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry company. The company provides high quality IC manufacturing services, focusing on various specialized logic and technologies to serve all major segments of the electronics industry. UMC's comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing solutions include logic/mixed signal, integrated high voltage, integrated non-volatile memory, RFSOI, BCD and so on. Most of UMC's 12-inch and 8-inch plants with core R&D are located in Taiwan, with additional regions throughout Asia. UMC has a total of 12 plants in production with a combined capacity of over 400,000 wafers per month (12-inch equivalent), all of which are certified to IATF 16949 automotive quality standards. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, with local offices in the US, Europe, China, Japan and Korea. and Singapore, with a total number of employees worldwide of 20,000. For more information, please visit: http://www.umc.com.
Note from UMC regarding forward-looking statements
Certain statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, including statements about the introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, chip capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results may differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including prevailing conditions in the semiconductor market and the economy generally; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; Technological and development risks. More information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
1 All numbers in this paragraph show the percentage of change between 2019 and 2023.
View source version on Businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114984209/en/
Media communication
UMC Corporate Communications
Michelle Yoon
886-3-578-2258×16951
michelle_yun@umc.com
Source: United Microelectronics Company
