Analysis: What Does TSMC's New German Fab Mean for Europe?

TaiwanPlus News

Construction has begun on TSMC's new semiconductor factory, or "fab," in Dresden, Germany. TaiwanPlus speaks with Frank Bosenberg from industry group Silicon Saxony about what the new fab might mean for the European chip market.

Transcript

00:00So first of all, what do you see as being the main impacts of this new German chip factory

00:05once it's built?

00:07First it's again another major FAB in the same size as the ones by Infineon or Global

00:13Foundry.

00:14So it increases the diversity just by the players itself.

00:18It will help to internationalize the entire region, namely by Taiwanese and further on

00:23Asian community that we really expect to grow.

00:27And last but not least, it will also have an impact on the supplier base, which will

00:30be also more internationalized and more diversified.

00:34So it's really strengthening the region as a whole, contributing to a very positive

00:39development in the foreseeable future.

00:42You might know that Bosch and Infineon are also part of the joint venture that together

00:47with NXP and of course the major shareholder TSMC forms ESMC, which actually broke ground

00:54today.

00:55What about labor?

00:56There's been reporting of conflicts between TSMC and its Arizona workers.

01:01Do you know if any extra steps have been taken to address this issue in Germany?

01:06We have seen several delegations from Taiwan, of course, led by TSMC here on this issue

01:12already.

01:13And the new managing director of ESMC, Christian Koitsch, is a former FAB manager of Bosch.

01:19Just by the setup of the main staff of ESMC alone, this challenge is tackled to some extent.

01:25And then I also take trust in TSMC that they learn from experiences they made.

01:30So I won't expect those challenges to occur in the effect as we saw in the US.

01:37Would you like to see more TSMC factories in Saxony?

01:41Of course I do.

01:42Of course I do.

01:43I mean, it's an economy of scale and it's a typical way of extending existing production

01:50facilities in a site that you already have.

01:53We have seen this by the existing players already.

01:57And of course, I hope that TSMC will also do so.

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