AMD plans 'topping off' ceremony in Dresden
AMD is planning to hold the topping off ceremony for its AMD Fab 36 in Dresden, Germany on May 17. "Only five months ago we broke ground for our next-generation wafer fab in Dresden," said Hans Deppe, vice president and general manager of the site. "The shell of the building is already more than 50% complete and we have put the first roof trusses in place. The construction of the central utility building is advancing just as fast. Now that we have made it through the winter, we are even more confident that we will be able to meet the next milestones of the project: AMD Fab 36 is expected to be 'ready for equipment' in late 2004, first silicon test starts are scheduled for mid-2005, and first commercial shipments are planned for the first half of 2006." AMD Fab 36 will implement the third generation of AMD's Automated Precision Manufacturing (APM 3.0) in the production of 300mm wafers for leading-edge microprocessors. Hiring for the new fab has begun and the company expects to create approximately 200 new jobs this year alone. The headcount of AMD Fab 36 is planned to grow to about 1.000 by 2007. Investment in AMD Fab 36 is expected to reach $2.4bn during the same period. AMD Fab 36 will be AMD's second microprocessor wafer fab in Dresden. The first facility, AMD Fab 30, started commercial production in Q2 2000. Currently, AMD employs about 2,000 people in Dresden.