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TOKYO November 28th, 2000 --- Elpida Memory, Inc. (Elpida) is to construct a 300mm wafer fabrication plant on the grounds of NEC Hiroshima, Ltd. (NEC Hiroshima). Construction of the new fab will begin from January 2001 and volume production of 256 megabit (Mb) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices in a 0.13-micron process is expected to begin from the first half of 2002.
Maximum capacity will eventually reach 20,000 wafers per month, the equivalent of 48,000 wafers at the conventional 200mm diameter. The new plant will have a total floor space of 22,000 square meters and a clean room floor space of 17,700 square meters.
Elpida will invest approximately 160 billion Yen to build the new fab, while NEC Corporation (NEC) and Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi) will make an additional investment of 20 billion Yen in Elpida towards the construction of the shell. The new fab will be Elpida's first, expanding the company's ability to supply the market, and complements its existing production system based chiefly on support from NEC Hiroshima and Hitachi Nippon Steel Semiconductor Singapore Pte. Ltd. (HNS) in Singapore.
Elpida was established in December 1999 as a joint venture DRAM company between NEC and Hitachi, bringing together the engineering skills of both companies at Elpida's Development and Device Center in Sagamihara, western Tokyo. Elpida has approximately 450 engineers working on development and design of DRAM devices based on a 0.13-micron design rule. In August 2000 the company achieved spectrum dominance by developing the world's first 256Mb DRAM using this leading-edge process rule, a die-size 50% smaller than equivalent devices based on conventional 0.18-micron process technology.
Combining NEC and Hitachi's DRAM marketing operations, Elpida will begin its own sales operations from early 2001 including existing products from the two partners and Elpida's own newly developed products.
Elpida will have fully integrated development, and sales and manufacturing capabilities as Japan's only dedicated DRAM manufacturer. The addition of its own production capabilities is expected to promote its competitiveness among the world's DRAM manufacturers and further add to customer confidence.
About Elpida Memory, Inc.
Elpida Memory, Inc. (formerly NEC-Hitachi Memory, Inc.) is a global corporation officially formed on December 20th, 1999 with its headquarters based in Tokyo, Japan, and sales and marketing operations to be located in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. Research, design and development operations were merged from NEC and Hitachi on April 1, 2000 and sales and marketing operations will commence in the first quarter of 2001.
Elpida's entire product line-up will be marketed under the Elpida brand name and will include DRAM devices and modules inherited from both NEC and Hitachi, as well as products designed and developed by Elpida as they become available for production. The company is currently involved in developing leading-edge DRAM products based on 0.13-micron process technology. Elpida's main DRAM foundries are located at NEC Hiroshima and Hitachi Nippon Steel Semiconductor Singapore with additional production capacity available from other NEC fabs. For more information, visit Elpida's World Wide Web site at www.elpida-memory.com
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1999 (ended March 31, 2000) consolidated sales of 8,001 billion yen ($75.5 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.
| *At an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar. |
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) (TSE: 6701) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 4,991 billion Yen (approx. US$48 billion) in fiscal year 1999-2000. For further information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec-global.com
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