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| Ken Cavallaro, Business Manager, Semiconductor Packaging News
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Before the opening of Semicon West, we attended an analyst meeting hosted by Applied Materials with 200 other industry experts. Mike Splinter, CEO said it was the first time in years they could smile at Semicon.
Business at AMAT was very strong with 10 new products released over the past year, and wafer fab at full capacity. He commented that revenue will grow over 100% in 2010 compared to 2009 and suggested this was a multi-year growth cycle. Applied estimated 14 new fabs were under development and older 200mm lines were coming back on-line to increase capacity.
Tablet PC's are creating a new category of growth for the industry with thinner chip design required and forcing the development of production TSV technology. Applied Materials believes the new iPad and tablet PC market will create increased demand for chip sets and cut into Netbook products. This was a very upbeat meeting and helped set the stage for the opening of Semicon West 2010.
Back at the Moscone Center, the waiting line for the visitor badges reminded me of the lines at Disney World and caused a delay for many visitors to reach the exhibit floor. Many exhibitors were concerned by the slow start, but by late morning, the halls were bustling with visitors looking at the new technology developed during the downturn.
Most companies used the past 12 months to develop new products delivering higher yields with more accuracy for customer applications. We met with about 30 companies today and most were very busy with lead times continuing to be a problem.
The supply chain inventory problem continues to cause delays in shipping equipment as customer demand more capacity. We were able to see many new products and most exhibitors felt good about the first day at the show.
We'll follow-up tomorrow with some of the specific company news heard from exhibitors and attendees.
