SKC subsidiary to invest 32 bln won in silicon wafer business

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- SKC Solmics Co., a subsidiary of leading South Korean
film company SKC Ltd., said Wednesday it will invest 32.7 billion won (US$28.60
million) to produce silicon wafers for use in solar cells.
The company, a ceramic maker for components of semiconductor and LCD equipment,
plans to complete a 50 megawatt production line of silicon wafers, a thin slice
of silicon used to fabricate semiconductors, at a plant in the city of
Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, by the end of this year.
The new business is expected to generate more than 60 billion won in sales next
year, it said.
"We've secured a top class technology for semiconductor equipment and silicon
ingots, so we can manufacture high-quality and high-efficiency silicon wafers,"
SKC Solmics CEO Ju Kwang-il said in a statement.
"We will expand the production scale of silicon wafers for use in solar cells to
more than 200 megawatts by 2012 and turn over sales worth more than 200 billion
won ($174.97 million) in the medium- and long-term," Ju added.
With its subsidiary tapped into the silicon wafer market, SKC will be able to
produce a range of key materials for solar cell production, including ethylene
vinyl acetate, fluorinated films, polyester films and back-sheet.
kimnh@yna.co.kr
(END)