Walton Advanced Engineering (WAE) is mulling plans to expand its existing facility and revise upward its capex for 2010, having seen strong orders mainly for DDR3 memory testing, according to company president Yu Hong-chi. The memory packaging and testing service provider also expects to add on-site workers by 10-20%, Yu added.
Walton has seen DDR3 testing order visibility extend to September, and packaging capacity have run tight since early March, Yu said. Its overall utilization rate now reaches above 90%, Yu noted.
Walton has placed orders of high-speed testers for DDR3 memory, Yu indicated. The company will see the number of installed high-speed testers grow 20-30% in the middle of this year compared to the level in end-2009.
Yu said Walton does not rule out the possibility of constructing new factory buildings in either its base in Suzhou, China or production hub in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in order to ease tight capacity. Capex for 2010 may be higher than its current estimate of NT$3 billion (US$94 million), Yu added.
DDR3 is expected to account for over 50% of Walton's total DRAM shipments in the second quarter, according to Yu.