In the roller-coaster affair that is the high-tech economy, the moves of Toronto-based electronics and telecom contract manufacturer Celestica are no great surprise. Just after announcing job cuts of 3,000 in April, the company raised US$705 million through the sales of 12 million subordinated voting shares, thus enabling it to purchase Primetech Electronics of Quebec for $400 million, then SAGEM CR s.r.o, in Kladno, Czech Republic for an undisclosed sum. The Czech plant is expected to continue to work closely with the Celestica plant in Rajecko.
      Meanwhile, back in Canada, "the acquisition of Primetech provides Celestica with additional high-complexity manufacturing capability and also expands its global customer base," says Eugene Polistuk, Celestica chairman and CEO. The company is aiming for $20 billion in sales by 2003.
      In San Jose, Calif., rolling blackouts aren't keeping electronics manufacturing firms from rolling out the cash barrel. Sanmina Corp. is selling $2 billion in securities in order to fund its own expansion efforts, begun last year with the acquisition of circuit board maker Hadco Corp. of New Hampshire for $1.3 billion, then continued with the buy of AB Segerstrom & Svensson, which makes integrated enclosure systems, for $511 million in stock.
      In Sweden, Ericsson supplier Elcoteq will soon establish a technology center to offer its services to Ericsson and other companies.
      But leading the way in electronics and semiconductor plant activity is Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Company (SSMC), a joint venture between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Philips Semiconductors and Economic Development Board Investments (EDBI) of Singapore. In May, SSMC today officially opened a $1.2 billion wafer production facility. Full capacity will be 30,000 eight-inch wafers per month.
      "We are delighted by the strong vote of confidence that Philips and TSMC have in the long-term prospects of the worldwide semiconductor industry and in Singapore's competitiveness," said Brigadier-General George Yeo, Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry. "The Singapore Government will continue to invest heavily in infrastructure and capability development ahead of demand. For instance, as we move up the value ladder into knowledge-intensive activities, demand for highly trained technical manpower will increase. The two new manpower capability initiatives will create a sizable pool of additional engineering manpower for the industry to draw from."
      Added Arthur van der Poel, chairman and CEO of Philips Semiconductors, "This strategically important long-term investment will deliver exactly the right products at the right time to meet industry demands. As those demands increase, the initial investment of $1.2 billion is likely to be exceeded."
      Up to 1,000 people will eventually work at the 90,000-sq.-m. (968,760-sq.-ft.) plant in Singapore's Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park, which was constructed using the expertise of more than 150 engineers who went through rigorous training at a Philips facility in the Netherlands and a TSMC facility in Taiwan. That facility, in Hsinchu, has also been home to another innovation: a solder bumping line for its wafer production, which churns out up to 15,000 wafers per month. The process, which improves the chip's packaging and its overall performance, has been approved for production by TSMC technology partner Altera Corp.
      "TSMC and Altera have once again demonstrated that collaboration in advanced technical development can result in an industry-leading solution with significant competitive advantages," said Vincent Wang, senior director of packaging at Altera.
      The huge role to be played by the ever-tinier semiconductor is also driving further investment into education-based R&D projects. At SUNY-Albany in New York, IBM will partner with the university to build the world's only 300-millimeter computer wafer prototype facility that is on a university campus. With $50 million from the state of New York and $100 million from Big Blue, the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics will employ 500 people.