Samsung's Semiconductor Business was founded in Korea
with the acquisition of Hankook Semiconductor in 1974. Early operations
consisted mostly of developing and mass producing ICs and peripherals for such
consumer electronics as analog and LED watches, televisions, audio players and
microwave ovens. The pivotal turning point in Samsung's evolution into a
leading semiconductor manufacturer was the successful development of the 64Kb
DRAM in 1983, and the subsequent opening of the Giheung Semiconductor Complex
and Samsung's first memory fabrication facility in 1984.
Through a strategy of aggressive growth, Samsung has held market leadership positions in Memory since 1993, and in NAND Flash since 2003. In 2001, the company signaled a long commitment to logic and analog chip development with the expansion of its System LSI Division and the opening of its SoC Research Lab. In 2004, Samsung's Hard Disk Drive Division was combined with its Semiconductor Business.
Through a strategy of aggressive growth, Samsung has held market leadership positions in Memory since 1993, and in NAND Flash since 2003. In 2001, the company signaled a long commitment to logic and analog chip development with the expansion of its System LSI Division and the opening of its SoC Research Lab. In 2004, Samsung's Hard Disk Drive Division was combined with its Semiconductor Business.
Semiconductor Business Divisions
The Semiconductor Business
of Samsung Electronics, based in Giheung, Korea, consists of three major
divisions: Memory, System LSI and Storage Systems. It has pioneered numerous
advancements in chip technology that are now widely used in mobile, desktop and
other digital consumer products.
Manufacturing Facilities
The Semiconductor Business
has 14 front-end production facilities around the world. Semiconductor fabs are
located in Giheung and Hwaseong, Korea (near Seoul), and in Austin, Texas. The
company also operates IC assembly plants in Onyang, Korea and Suzhou, China. A
key benefit of Samsung's semiconductor strategy is the flexibility to shift
production between manufacturing facilities in anticipation of changing market
demands. This helps to insulate Samsung from declining market dynamics and to
stabilize its operating margins.
Samsung also operates
state-of-the-art Class-10 hard-drive manufacturing facilities in Gumi, Korea.
The Gumi plant boasts the highest quality production, with automation that
enables rapid adaptation to future technologies.
R&D Commitment
Investment in R&D
facilities is a high priority today and will continue to be so in the future.
Of the company's 34,000 employees based in Korea, over 30% have work duties
dedicated to research and development. The Semiconductor Business also conducts
research in San Jose, California and Austin, Texas (United States), Suzhou
(China), Yokohama (Japan), Moscow (Russia), Bangalore (India), and Tel Aviv
(Israel). In 2009, Samsung Electronics as a whole invested US$6.2 billion in
R&D - around 8.1 percent of its annual sales. As a result, Samsung
Electronics has been able to maintain its 2nd place position in registered US
patents – reaching 3,611 in 2009.