Kioxia and Western Digital announced a joint investment in the Yokkaichi plant
Some time ago, Kioxia confirmed that the plant in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan will be expanded to build a new Fab 2 factory, which will focus on the production of BiCS Flash. The expansion project of the Beishang factory has begun, Kioxia said it will adopt a shock-absorbing structure and environmentally friendly design, install advanced energy-saving manufacturing equipment, use renewable energy, and be able to intelligently coordinate and optimize production with Fab 1 and its Yokkaichi plant.
Recently, Kioxia announced that it has reached an agreement with Western Digital to jointly invest in the Fab 7 plant in Yokkaichi. With the completion of the first phase of the construction of the Fab 7 factory, initial production will begin in the fall of 2022. The first phase of Fab 7 will produce 3D NAND flash memory, including 112-layer and 162-layer products as well as a range of future nodes. The partnership between Kioxia and Western Digital will add a sixth flash memory production facility to strengthen its position as the world’s largest flash memory production base.
Both Kioxia and Western Digital are very satisfied with this cooperation, which is another important milestone in the 20-year strategic joint venture partnership between the two parties.
“We are very pleased to further deepen our strategic partnership with Western Digital through this joint investment in Y7,” said Nobuo Hayasaka, President and CEO of Kioxia. “The rapid digitization of societies underpins accelerating use of memory products. We will continue to leverage our technological partnership and economies of scale to develop and produce cutting-edge semiconductor products and achieve organic corporate growth.”
“This joint investment in Y7 accentuates our productive and positive relationship with Kioxia, underscoring our substantial global share in memory, the ongoing importance of memory and storage and our multi-faceted commitment to Japan,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, President, Technology & Strategy, Western Digital. “Our strategic partnership with Kioxia has led to the introduction of leading-edge technology while increasing the scale of manufacturing and R&D capabilities. We look forward to continuing to drive long-term success together.”
Kioxia said that it will continue to maximize the synergy effect and enhance their respective competitiveness through joint investment and development of 3D NAND flash memory according to the changing trend of the market, so as to expand the leading position of both parties in the storage field.
