ISMI News

Matsushita to join International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative

Austin, TX (5 October 2004) - The Semiconductor Company of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. has joined the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) effective Oct. 1, becoming the newest member of a global alliance of semiconductor companies focused exclusively on manufacturing effectiveness, officials of SEMATECH announced today.

ISMI, a subsidiary of SEMATECH, was formed earlier this year as a new consortium dedicated to helping semiconductor manufacturers improve factory productivity and reduce cost per wafer, and ultimately cost per die. Other ISMI members include AMD, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Freescale, Philips, Texas Instruments and TSMC.

"We are delighted with Matsushita's decision to join ISMI, which is the world's only consortium dedicated uniquely to semiconductor manufacturing issues," said Michael R. Polcari, SEMATECH president and CEO. "Matsushita is an industry leader, and one of the top manufacturers of consumer electronics; and we look forward to its participation in ISMI. The addition of a Japanese company will increase the breadth of ISMI and reinforce its already recognized global influence within the industry."

"Shrinking device features at advanced technology nodes are making it more difficult to maintain yield and productivity, and e-manufacturing is indispensable in solving this problem," said Dr. Michihiro Inoue, director of Matsushita's Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Center. "Matsushita anticipates that ISMI membership will give us productivity solutions for future challenges in our manufacturing fabs, allowing us to achieve best-in-class levels of productivity."

John Schmitz, vice president and COO for Manufacturing Operations and Technology at SEMATECH, said Matsushita will send assignees to the consortium as part of its participation, and will provide ISMI with an important representation of Japan's semiconductor manufacturing sector. "We look forward to expanding our interaction with Japanese chipmakers, since ultimately all chipmakers share the same manufacturing issues and concerns," Schmitz said.

"ISMI has core competencies in areas such as productivity benchmarking," said Scott Kramer, ISMI director. "Our members have always been keenly interested in world class benchmarks for fab performance, and more importantly, the methods to achieve that performance." Kramer said these capabilities will be highlighted at the inaugural ISMI Symposium on Manufacturing Effectiveness Oct. 25-28 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, TX.

ISMI's core programs include fab productivity, equipment productivity, metrology, and environment/safety/health. The consortium conducts projects within those program areas, guided in the short term by installed base industry needs, and in the longer term by critical strategic manufacturing requirements defined by consortium members. Focused ISMI efforts in e-manufacturing, standards development, statistical methods and fab industry modeling have helped accelerate the realization of future factory needs of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).

"Our work is done most effectively on a global scale, with the world's top IC producers engaged in precompetitive collaboration, benchmarking and shared best practices to reduce the overall costs of manufacturing," Kramer continued. "The more participants in ISMI, the greater the R&D leverage for the industry."

ISMI membership is open to all semiconductor manufacturers with fabs. Participating companies continuously evaluate and refresh the consortium's program content, which ultimately could include projects aimed at plug-and-play (i.e., the minimum time for equipment installation and qualification) and people productivity in advanced manufacturing.

About Matsushita
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand name, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated sales of US$71.92 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. Matsushita's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York (NYSE:MC), Euronext Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information on the company and its Panasonic brand, visit the Matsushita website at http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html.