Globalfoundries to expand N.Y. fab

SAN FRANCISCO—Globalfoundries Inc. said Tuesday (July 24) it would move forward with the final construction of Module 1 at its Fab 8 campus in upstate New York, a move that will bring the total manufacturing capacity of the facility to 300,000 square feet.

Globalfoundries plans to begin the new phase of construction to add 90,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity next month. The project is expected to be completed in December 2013.

Eric Choh, vice president and general manager of Fab 8, said Globalfoundries extended the shell of the Module 1 building during the construction of Fab 8, with the expectation that business would continue  to grow.

"Today we see increasingly strong demand from our customers, especially at the 28-nm node, and we are excited to be moving forward with this next phase in the development of the Fab 8 campus," Choh said.

Extending the cleanroom will increase Fab 8's capacity by about 60,000 wafers per month, Globalfoundries said. The extension will increase the capital budget for Fab 8 to about $6.9 billion from roughly $4.6 billion, the company said.

Construction of Fab 8 began in July 2009, with the first people and equipment moving into the facility in the middle of 2011. Initial wafer starts began earlier this year, and the facility is on track to begin risk production by the end of the year, with volume production in early 2013, according to the company.

Since breaking ground on Fab 8, Globalfoundries says its created more than 1,500 new direct jobs in the region. The project was also created another 4,300 construction-related jobs, according to the company.

In recent weeks, there has been speculation that Globalfoundries might seek to buy IBM's chip R&D and business interests to expand its capacity in upstate New York.