ON Semiconductor recently announced plans to expand production capacity at its 6-inch (150mm) wafer manufacturing facility in Oudenaarde, Belgium, by approximately 40% with a total equipment investment in 2010 of €12.3 million (or $15.78 million USD). The Belgium factory specializes in the manufacture of application specific high-voltage technologies for the automotive and industrial industry, and in integrated and discrete standard products for a wide range of market segments.
The €12.3 million being invested in additional manufacturing equipment at the Belgium facility is part of the company’s overall plan to maximize its in-house manufacturing operations. The additional production equipment being installed at the Oudenaarde facility will assist ON Semiconductor in meeting the increasing customer demand for its semiconductor components utilized by the automotive and industrial industries. Equipment installation efforts are underway, and are expected to increase production at the Belgium wafer fab by 40% by early 2011. The company expects to locally hire additional blue collar and white collar labor in support of the expansion.