Samsung Electro-Mechanics Delays Glass Substrate Investment Again as Trial-Product Reviews Stall

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has again delayed its semiconductor glass substrate investment schedule, according to The Elec, after customers encountered bottlenecks in reliability evaluations of trial products. The delay has pushed back construction of the production line at GlaSSEM, its glass-core joint venture with Dongwoo Fine Chem, leaving the timing for equipment orders uncertain. GlaSSEM has not provided suppliers with an order schedule; equipment orders have been postponed from December last year to March and then June, marking more than three delays, and no further schedule guidance has been offered since June. Industry observers say the root cause is that global telecom-chip customers have failed to pass reliability certification for glass-substrate trial products. Samsung Electro-Mechanics continues to produce trial units at its Sejong site, and it has already selected most equipment suppliers for key production steps such as deposition, etching, laser drilling and inspection. Because trial products must be redone and resubmitted, the original investment plan is expected to be pushed back further. When GlaSSEM was established early last month, Samsung Electro-Mechanics targeted mass production in the second half of 2027, but it adjusted that timeline to 2028 during last month's earnings call. Production is now expected to be delayed further.