BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC

Jon Jansky of MEMC St. Peters has the rapt attention of Bob
Sandfort, Meyer Gallow, and Ludger Viefhues in 1993.
to position itself for the time when the market
would turn around. In March 1997, the first phase
of the 300mm research and development line at
St. Peters was completed, and 300mm wafers
were being shipped to customers worldwide.
Additional investments in the Utsunomiya,
Japan, facility, totaling some $250 million, were
announced in October of 1997.
By 1998, an industry-wide recession was in full
swing. It was the first year since 1985 that yearover-year
demand for silicon wafers actually
decreased. Overcapacity in the semiconductor
device industry remained a problem, aggravated
by a slowing economy in Asia and out-and-out
recession in Japan. Compared to the U.S. dollar,
the Japanese yen and Deutsche mark remained
strong, further undercutting already weak prices
and margins.
MEMC was featured in the July 2005 issue of
Semiconductor International.
Strictly Business 65