image courtesy of Getty Images A Chinese firm has purchased a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Newport. Newport Wafer Fab, based in Tredegar Park, is an electronics company that manufactures semiconductors and employs 450 people. Nexperia, which already has a presence in Manchester, has purchased it. Dr Drew Nelson, the outgoing chairman of Newport Wafer Fab, described the deal as a “important aspect” of the sector in south Wales. Nexperia is a Chinese-owned firm with offices in the Netherlands. The Tredegar Park region began producing silicon chips in the 1980s. Can Europe boost semiconductor production? How is the semiconductor shortfall affecting Playstation and Xbox? It presently produces silicon semiconductors and is working on compound semiconductors, which are smaller and faster than silicon. The site is part of the CSconnected group of Welsh organizations, which includes Cardiff and Swansea Universities and aims to make Wales a world leader in technology. In 2017, the Cardiff Capital Region’s ten councils announced a £38 million investment in a facility, or foundry, in Newport to produce compound semiconductors used in robotics, 5G, and self-driving cars. In five years, the goal is to create 2,000 high-skilled positions. The sale for the Wafer Fab site, according to Dr Nelson, helped safeguard the site’s future as well as semiconductor production in Wales. Newport Wales’ economy is booming. Business in Wales Cardiff/n
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