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FLEXTRONICS
INTERNATIONAL JOINS UMC's PREFERRED FOUNDRY PROGRAM
A Global Electronic
Manufacturing Services (EMS) Provider Aligns with UMC to Provide
Leading-Edge Capacity to its Suppliers
SUNNYVALE,
Calif., November 27, 2000--UMC
(NYSE: UMC) today announced that Flextronics International
(NYSE: FLEX) has joined its Preferred Foundry Program. The
world renowned EMS Provider has agreed to endorse UMC as a
member of its Preferred Foundry Program to its chip suppliers.
As part of the program, Flextronics has qualified UMC to manufacture
chips for its suppliers, and likewise extends pre-qualification
to UMC customers, for
new vendor designs and/or components for which Flextronics
controls the qualification process.
"Flextronics is the leading
supplier of EMS to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
in a wide range of fast growing markets and applications.
Accordingly, they are seeking access to leading edge technologies
and ways to efficiently qualify the designs and fab processes
prior to manufacturing to ensure high-quality end products
are available to ramp at the optimal market window," said
Jim Kupec senior vice president of worldwide marketing and
sales at UMC. "We are helping Flextronics address these
requirements directly by providing high-volume, ramp-up capacity
to its suppliers in our newest fabs, utilizing UMC's advanced
process technologies. In addition, Flextronics suppliers
will have the opportunity to gain access to our 0.13 micron
technology."
Kupec continued, "We have proven to Flextronics
that we manufacture with superior cycle times and yields.
Thus, Flextronics has agreed to accelerate the qualification
process for its vendors that utilize UMC. This will
prove mutually beneficial not only to UMC and Flextronics,
but also to Flextronics' suppliers and customers."
Stephen C. Martson, senior vice president
and chief procurement officer at Flextronics, noted, "joining
UMC's Preferred Foundry Program is an important move for Flextronics,
particularly as industry indicators show that the world's
leading semiconductor companies have approached maximum capacity.
This relationship with UMC will help successful designs to
ramp-up production volumes rapidly for Flextronics suppliers,
which, in turn will enhance Flextronics' ability to maintain
its delivery schedules.
Martson continued, "We selected UMC as
our preferred foundry because it has a proven track record
with a number of our suppliers for quickly ramping leading-edge
technologies to high yields, achieving outstanding quality
and timely delivery. This makes us confident that those
suppliers that migrate to UMC will benefit from the same superior
level of service.
About Flextronics International
Headquartered in Singapore,
Flextronics International is a leading provider of flexibility
and speed in Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) to Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the fast-growth communications,
networking, computer, medical and consumer markets. Flextronics
is a major global operating company with design, engineering
and manufacturing operations in 27 countries and four continents.
This global presence allows for manufacturing excellence through
a network of global facilities situated in key markets that
in turn provide its customers with the resources, technology
and capacity to maximize productivity. Flextronics' ability
to provide design and manufacturing services, coordinate innovative
product design, provide a full spectrum of specialized services
and IT expertise, in conjunction with their global presence,
establishes Flextronics as a top-tier EMS provider. For further
information, please visit the Flextronics Web site at www.flextronics.com .
About UMC's Preferred Foundry
Program
UMC's Preferred Foundry Program provides
leading-edge advanced process technology, with a certain amount
of guaranteed capacity, to suppliers of Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM's), Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS's)
and service providers who endorse UMC as their preferred foundry.
Participants in the program "pre-qualify" chip manufacture
by UMC for selected suppliers and vendors, who in turn work
with UMC to obtain manufacturing services using advanced technologies
and capacity. The pre-qualification component of this
program is the catalyst for rapid ramp-up of production volumes,
resulting in reduced product time-to-market for participants
as well as their suppliers and vendors.
Note Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements
in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the
meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements
about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business
relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned
that actual events and results could differ materially from
these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including
conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy;
acceptance and demand for products from UMC and Flextronics;
and technological and development risks.
Editorial
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