Founded in 1967, Applied Materials Inc. is the world's leading and largest nanomanufacturing technology company. It boasts a vast array of production lines, including semiconductor process and mask equipment, fl at panel display (FPD) production equipment and manufacturing execution systems (MES). In recent years, Applied Materials has crossed over into the solar photovoltaic industry providing production equipment for the manufacturing of solar cells, flexible electronics and energy-saving glass.
The high-tech company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, in the midst of Silicon Valley and runs a manufacturing center and a technology training center in Austin, Texas. Together with technological research and development centers in the United States, Europe, Israel and Japan, the company's R&D and production structure spans three continents. More than 90 sales and service locations have been established in 18 countries around the globe, including China, Europe, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Located in the immediate vicinity of the company's major customers or regional centers of semiconductor manufacturing, these sales and service offices support the globally booming electronics industry. With more than 17,000 employees worldwide, Applied Materials ranks among the top 500 companies globally and as of 2010 remained unchallenged for 19 successive years in its top position as the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplier according to VLSI Research. In 2009, the company also became the leading manufacturing systems supplier to the fl at panel display and thin film photovoltaic industries.
Applied Materials Taiwan Ltd. is the subsidiary of Applied Materials Inc. and was founded in 1989. The subsidiary company is headquartered in the Hsinchu Science Park and has a manufacturing center for display equipment in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The company's parts and components distribution center, the only one in Asia, is located in Taoyuan, while sales and service offices are based in Linkou and Taichung. The Taiwan subsidiary has more than 900 employees, making it the island's largest supplier of semiconductor equipment and services.
Despite being the world's largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, Applied Materials continues to expand its business, thriving alongside its Taiwanese customers. Initially, Applied Materials sought to elevate buyer-seller relations into true cooperative partnerships by being closely involved in the production processes and after-sale services of its customers. Applied Materials assisted domestic parts manufacturers such as Marketech International Corp. (MIC) and Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc. to gain certified Applied Materials supplier status, thus helping the domestic industry to become part of the global semiconductor supply chain. In recent years, Applied Materials has entered the photovoltaic industry and engages in LED R&D as the entire company shifts toward the development of ""nanomanufacturing technology.""
As the business of its Taiwanese customers rapidly expanded, Applied Materials opened new offices in Linkou and Tainan in 2000 before setting up a presence in the Central Taiwan Science Park in 2005 to help Taiwan's semiconductor wafer makers to become more competitive in the global market. Lured by the promising prospects of the fl at panel display and solar photovoltaic industries, Applied Materials broke ground for a US$17 million expansion of its Tainan Manufacturing Center in 2008. The expanded facility was equipped with three production lines to satisfy rising customer demand and turned Taiwan into the manufacturing center for Applied Materials in Asia.
Why would such a large, successful multinational company decide to invest in Taiwan? Semiconductors and flat panel displays count among Taiwan's key trillion dollar industries. Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) forecasts in its latest capital equipment forecast that global sales in semiconductor equipment will reach US$44.33 billion in 2011. With capital expenditure of US$10.6 billion, Taiwan is the largest equipment buyer worldwide. Erix Yu, Applied Materials corporate vice president of Silicon Systems Group and president of Applied Materials Taiwan, believes that semiconductor is a capital intensive and technology intensive industry. At the same time, the industry is competing against time and a rapidly changing market, and any delay can lead to the loss of immense business opportunities. Applied Materials thus decided to invest in Taiwan to be as close to its markets and customers as possible.
Yu notes that Taiwan's adept, highly skilled workforce was another major reason for investing here. However, as economic exchanges between Taiwan and China intensified, the Chinese market became the focus of the company's investment, while Taiwan remains the development center for advanced technology and precision industries. Generally speaking, Applied Materials gives priority to hiring locally grown talent. While many argue that the cost of labor in China is cheaper, Yu posits that Taiwan has a high-quality workforce, an advantage that China is not likely to gain in the short term.
For Applied Materials, the quality of Taiwan's talent was also a key reason for investing in Taiwan. Taiwanese managers are often sent to China to train employees there. On top of that, Taiwan boasts a geographically convenient location and a complete supply chain for key parts and components. For Applied Materials Taiwan, there is, therefore, ample reason to continue expanding its scope on the island.
Yu points out that Taiwan has highly skilled engineers and R&D talent, who have a strong ability to find solutions independently, as well as favorable geographical location and a good investment environment. He is convinced that Taiwan will be able to quickly create another star industry following the golden era of semiconductors if it maps out a strategy that effectively utilizes the advantages of its internal and external environment.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Taiwan has become the most important link in the company's global supply chain. In an affirmation of Taiwan as an investment location, Applied Materials has transferred most production lines and technology for flat panel display and solar photovoltaic equipment from Germany and the United States to Taiwan. Aside from concentrating on its core business, at Applied Materials the credo is ""we apply nanomanufacturing technology to improve the way people live. ""Since 1996, the company has been constantly promoting environmental education and usually marks Earth Day with special events. Continued efforts have been made to support child education in Taiwan's remote areas and to promote domestic science education(such as the Amazing Semiconductors exhibition and innovation technology camps), hold its annual Arts and Culture Festival, and sponsor charity organizations and other philanthropic activities in Taiwan. Sputtering systems for solar energy research have been donated to National Taiwan University and the National Nano Device Laboratories (NDL) to share the most advanced solar photovoltaic technologies and global development trends. Applied Materials endeavors to ""give back to society what we take from society"" out of commitment to fulfi lling its corporate social responsibility.
Source： Department of Investment Promotion, MOEA
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