U.S.-based Axcelis Invests KRW 57.5 Billion to Build Semiconductor Equipment Plant in South Korea

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 20, U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturer Axcelis Technologies held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, investing approximately KRW 57.5 billion to build a semiconductor ion implantation equipment manufacturing base in the Osseong Foreign Investment Zone. The project site covers an area of approximately 22,300 square meters, with a total floor area of approximately 18,800 square meters. Construction is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2028, with production to begin in the second half of that year, expanding the company's semiconductor equipment manufacturing capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new plant will take over the manufacturing operations of the existing Axcelis Asia Operations Center and will include cleanrooms for semiconductor equipment production, parts warehousing facilities, and a customer training center. The production area will feature Class 1,000 and Class 10,000 cleanrooms for ion implantation equipment manufacturing and related production operations. The warehousing center will supply equipment parts to customers in Asia and Europe and will also serve as a regional logistics and distribution hub.

Axcelis also plans to transfer some equipment and products previously manufactured in the United States to South Korea, increasing the local manufacturing share of equipment exported to Asian markets. The new base will add R&D, prototype manufacturing, and technical training functions, expanding the existing Asia Operations Center from an equipment production base into a comprehensive operations center covering manufacturing, R&D, logistics, and customer service.

The company established its Asia Operations Center in South Korea in 2021. The center is Axcelis's only manufacturing base outside the United States and has supplied ion implantation equipment to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and exported products to markets including China, Japan, and Singapore. With the expansion of the South Korean base, it will further take on equipment manufacturing and customer technical support operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The investment plan was officially announced in September 2026. Axcelis subsequently completed the lease arrangement for the Osseong Foreign Investment Zone in Pyeongtaek and began construction on October 20. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government participated in site selection, administrative permitting, and investment coordination. Axcelis had previously compared candidate sites in South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia.