GlobalWafers on Sept. 14 filed a material information notice through Taiwan’s public disclosure system, providing another update on the fire that struck its Novara plant in Italy in July. The company said the site has officially entered a partial restart, with the overall recovery moving slightly ahead of its original schedule. It added that the epitaxy, or EPI, process was the first to return, and the first batch of products has been processed and shipped.
Critical plant systems are back online
According to the filing, the fire took place on July 20 local time at the Novara plant’s 8-inch production line. GlobalWafers said recovery work has continued since then, and all critical plant utility systems have now resumed operation. Some front-end processes have also restarted gradually.
The company said the EPI process resumed before the wafering production line restarted. It also said the first batch of products has completed processing and begun shipping.
Third filing tied to the incident
GlobalWafers noted that it had previously issued two material information notices on the event, on July 22 and July 31. The Sept. 14 filing is its third supplemental update.
New 12-inch expansion line was not affected
On the site’s expansion project, the filing said the newly added 12-inch expansion line was not affected by the fire. Construction has been completed, while customer qualification and mass production ramp efforts are still progressing.
Insurance claim process is under way
GlobalWafers said the Novara facility is covered by comprehensive property insurance, including property damage and business interruption losses. The related claims process is under way. The filing did not disclose the amount of the damage or the expected insurance compensation.
The filing listed Peng Hsin-yu, special assistant to the chairman, as the declarant, and recorded Sept. 14 as the date of occurrence. In the section for other matters requiring disclosure, the company said the notice did not fall under Article 7, Paragraph 9 of the enforcement rules of the Securities and Exchange Act concerning matters with a material impact on shareholder equity or securities prices.