Kulicke & Soffa’s decision to take a hard look at its Eindhoven operations should also – and perhaps especially – be viewed from the paranoid perspective in which the back-end has to operate.
The relocation of Kulicke & Soffa’s production to Singapore painfully exposes the weakness of our high-tech industry and the European chip strategy. European parts, manufacturing capacity and engineering hours are simply too expensive for a back-end player in a market dominated by the front-end, I wrote recently.
K&S was trying, though. It put two heavy projects on the shoulders of its Eindhoven engineers. For a major end customer (in all likelihood Apple), it was developing a new placement machine for backlighting. In addition, it needed a new version of its iFlex pick-and-place machine. Two massive projects, which turned out to be millstones. As a ‘reward,’ production of the iFlex is moving from Eindhoven to Singapore.
This article is exclusively available to premium members of Bits&Chips. Already a premium member? Please log in. Not yet a premium member? Become one for just €20 for the first year and enjoy all the benefits.
