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Latest Updates: Wuxi Welnew Factory Fire Suspends Production
On January 6, a fire broke out at the Wuxi Welnew Factory in China. Emergency services of the Xinwu District in Wuxi City reported that the fire had been extinguished by 22:00 that night and there were no reported casualties. As a result of the fire, all semiconductor chip production activities at Wuxi Welnew have been suspended.
Which Product Lines Were Impacted? (Updated February 23, 2023)
The Welnew Wuxi factory is a sub-tier supplier for several major semiconductor manufacturers and specializes in surface treatment and electroplating of chips. Some of the manufacturers impacted by the fire include Infineon, Vishay, BOSCH, and OSRAM.
Below is a breakdown of potentially impacted packaging by the most affected manufacturers.
| Manufacturer | Impacted Packaging | Estimated Delays |
|---|---|---|
| Vishay | TSOP-6, TO-236 (SOT-23), SO-8, PowerPAK 1212-8, Thin PowerPAK 1212-8, PowerPAK SO-8, and 1206-8 ChipFET | Delivery interruptions estimated until May 2023 |
| Infineon | P-/PG-SC74*, -SOD323*, -SOT143*, -SOT23*, and PGSC79*, -SOT223*, -SOT323*, -SOT343*, -SOT363*, -SOT89*, -TDSON*, -TSFP*, -TSSOP* | Transferred to 1- Infineon Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Melaka, Malaysia (Delivery starts on 2023-02-06) 2- Shanghai Welnew Microelectronic Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China (Delivery pending on customer release) |
| OSRAM | Advanced Power TOPLED: LA G6SP, LA G6SP.01, LY G6SP Mini TOPLED: LS M67F, LY M67F Power TOPLED: LA E67F, LA ETSF, LS E67F SIDELED: LA A67F, LS A67F TOPLED: LA T67F, LS T67F, LY T676 | Expected to be a short-term issue for allocation (May 2023) |
| Toshiba | Minimally affected | No delay – subcontractor resumed production process |
| Renesas | No impact | No delay |
| Epson Micro Devices | No impact | No delay |
| Central Semiconductor | No impact | No delay |
| Onsemi | No impact | No delay |
In addition to the major impact on Infineon & Vishay, several other Tier-1 manufacturers were impacted. Epson Micro Devices reported that the fire had not impacted any of their products. Toshiba also released a statement saying the impact on their packages was minimal and they were able to reroute manufacturing through a subcontractor to avoid delays. Renesas Electronics also released a statement that they were unaffected by the fire as their assembly and testing sites do plating in-house. Onsemi also released a statement reporting that there was no impact on their business.
TI, Microchip, TE Connectivity, STMicroelectronics, Molex, and NXP may have also been affected by the Wuxi factory fire but have not yet released statements regarding the details of their impact.
Wuxi Welnew Delay Estimates and Contingency Plan
In order to mitigate the impact of the accident, Welnew will be moving its production to an alternative line at the Welnew Shanghai Factory. However, it is estimated that it will take up to five months to set up the necessary equipment and complete the qualification process before normal production can resume in May 2023. Delivery interruptions will most likely happen until the end of March.
Stay Up to Date on Supply Chain Disruptions
SiliconExpert’s team is constantly monitoring disruptive events and updating risk levels for certain components that may be impacted by those events. With SiliconExpert’s BOM Manager and supply chain risk management tools, you can be alerted to events that may impact your supply chain and find alternate methods of sourcing affected parts.
Learn MoreReferences:
- https://www.sohu.com/a/626052988_120388781
- http://www.welnew.com/Ch/main.asp
- https://download.siliconexpert.com/pdfs2/2023/1/25/10/13/9/566942/wuxiz_/manual/welnew–44-fire.pdf
*Contributing Author/Researcher: Hala Mohamed
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