IXYS and General Motors Components Holdings (GMCH) have signed an agreement to manufacture power semiconductor wafers. In an endeavor to develop and own technologies, IXYS created its in-house facility. It now possesses and operates wafer fabrication units for its important proprietary models in the USA, Germany and the UK.
The company was first chosen by GM’s Delco unit in 1990 to manufacture specific power semiconductors for EV1, an electric car, to be produced at the wafer fabrication facility in Kokomo, Indiana. Since the demand for power semiconductors in the transportation sector such as electric cars, trains, and hybrid electrical vehicles has considerably increased, the agreement with GMCH will help the company to establish a high volume power semiconductor wafer manufacturing base in the USA.
According to Dr. Nathan Zommer, CEO and founder of IXYS, the GMCH team based in Kokomo will help his company to rapidly increase its manufacturing capabilities and cater to global customers cost-efficiently, offering high quality products fabricated in the USA. GMCH will offer its capabilities and capacity to help address potential growth requirements beyond that of the Clare fab, which is currently being used by IXYS to cater to its power semiconductor wafer needs. GMCH Kokomo Operations at present hires more than a 1000 people and has a manufacturing facility of around 2 million square feet. It manufactures engine and transmission monitoring modules, crash sensors, analytical modules, semiconductors, pressure sensors for engines and occupant sensing, power electronics systems and body computer modules targeted at the automotive industry.
Source: http://www.ixys.com