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Media outlets in Japan are reporting on the expansion of Toshiba's semiconductor plant (February 4, 2022).
Toshiba has announced that it will build a new manufacturing building at its semiconductor plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, boosting its production capacity by 2.5 times.
As the global shortage of semiconductors spreads to affect the production of automobiles and digital devices, manufacturers have been investing heavily in the area.
Toshiba produces power semiconductors, which are used in automobiles and industrial equipment to efficiently convert electricity into power, at a plant of its subsidiary Kaga Toshiba Electronics Co. in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture.
On February 4, the company announced that it would spend about 100 billion yen to build a new manufacturing building on the site of the plant.
The new investment is expected to increase the plant's power semiconductor production capacity by 2.5 times its current capacity, and construction is expected to begin next spring, with operations scheduled to begin in fiscal 2024.
In addition to hiring about 300 new workers, mainly from the local community, the plant will be designed to be able to continue operations even in the event of a disaster by adopting an earthquake-proof structure.
Fuji Electric, another major manufacturer of power semiconductors, has also announced that it will install new equipment at its plant in Aomori Prefecture to boost production by fiscal 2024.
Japanese manufacturers have a relatively high share of the global market for power semiconductors, and against the backdrop of a shortage of semiconductors, manufacturers are actively investing to increase production.
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