ISE Labs, a subsidiary of ASE Technology, has acquired land in Tonalá, Jalisco, to establish a semiconductor packaging and testing facility, the company said this week. This move strengthens ASE’s regional presence and reflects the company’s expectations for increased demand for outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services in North America.
ASE, the world’s largest OSAT service provider, plans to use the Jalisco facility for chip packaging and testing. However, the company is tight-lipped about which packaging techniques (e.g., wire bond packages, leadframe packages, laminated flip-chip BGA packages, etc.) it will use. The new site in the Axis 2 Industrial Park within the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area will be the foundation for a facility expected to employ some 500 skilled engineers and technicians within its first year.
To address the facility’s workforce needs, ISE Labs will work closely with local agencies, including Jalisco’s State Ministry of Economic Development, State Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and State Ministry of Education. These partnerships will enable workforce training initiatives through collaborations with educational institutions and chambers of commerce, ensuring a pipeline of skilled personnel for ISE Labs.
Demand for semiconductor test and packaging services is expected to grow in North America as multiple chipmakers — including major ones like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung, as well as specialized foundries like GlobalFoundries and IDMs like Texas Instruments — are building up new fabs and expanding existing production facilities, so they are going to produce more silicon in the coming years. That silicon must be tested and packaged, where ASE Technology and its subsidiary ISE Labs come into play.
“ASE is a leading global company that represents the future and it has selected Guadalajara, Jalisco for this strategic investment that will bring important projects to our state,” said Enrique Alfaro…
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