Thin Film Electronics's new high-volume manufacturing facility in Silicon Valley now operational

Completion of initial product shipment from New Junction Avenue Facility coincides with grand opening event

15 Jun 2017 | Editor

Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm) has announced that the fab at its new Junction Avenue facility is now operational and that the first product lots have shipped. The milestone coincides with Thinfilm's grand opening event at the former Qualcomm-owned site, attended by more than 200 guests including the Mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo.

In October of 2016, Thinfilm announced it had leased the property at 2581 Junction Avenue for 12 years from Lowe Enterprises Investors and its joint venture partner, Vista Investment Group.

Over several months, Thinfilm transitioned its sheet-based manufacturing operation from its former Zanker Road facility to the new site, and employees officially moved in on April 24.

Thinfilm's manufacturing team has been actively ramping up the new fab and, as of June 15, has attained the following milestones:

All processing tools recommissioned
Cleanroom modifications complete, with resumption of 24/7 operations
Redundancy in place for all critical processing tools in the fab
EAS lots fully manufactured at Junction Avenue site have completed processing and have shipped
NFC lots fully manufactured at Junction Avenue site have initiated processing; expected completion by end of Q2

The tool redundancy matches the sheet-based expansion initiated at the Zanker Road site, which equates to 40 million units of NFC die front-end capacity annually, and over 60 million units of EAS die front-end capacity annually.

EAS volumes will be supplemented by the start of roll-based manufacturing by the end of 2017, which is on schedule. Roll-based manufacturing of EAS and NFC will further increase capacity to the billions of units annually.

Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, said, "Scaling our NFC manufacturing capabilities to ultra-high volumes is a critical step in meeting the growing demand we see among today's leading consumer brands. Our new roll-to-roll manufacturing line - and the state-of-the-art fab that houses it - will enable us to do just that." Davor added, "Thinfilm is proud to bring silicon and manufacturing back to Silicon Valley, and we look forward to providing our innovative NFC solutions to many more customers around the globe."

About Thin Film Electronics

Thinfilm is a global leader in NFC mobile marketing and smart-packaging solutions using printed electronics technology. The Company creates printed tags, labels, and systems that include memory, sensors, displays, and wireless communication - all at a cost-per-function unmatched by conventional electronic technologies.

Thinfilm offers end-to-end mobile marketing solutions that feature hardware, label/packaging integration services, and comprehensive cloud-based management, reporting and analytics. Collectively, these components deliver a powerful 1-to-1 digital marketing platform through which brands of all sizes can connect directly with consumers, all with the simple tap of a smartphone. The resulting disintermediation of search engines, online marketplaces, and social platforms empowers brands to control messaging, enhance consumer dialogue, build loyalty, increase engagement, and drive sales.

Thinfilm's roadmap integrates technology from a strong and growing ecosystem of partners to bring intelligence to everyday, disposable items. Its mission is to effectively extend the traditional boundaries of the Internet of Things to fuel the Internet of Everything.

Thin Film Electronics ASA is a publicly listed company in Norway with global headquarters in Oslo, Norway; US headquarters in San Jose, California and offices in Linköping, Sweden; San Francisco; London; and Shanghai.

Source: Thin Film Electronics