Fire-hit memory vendor to ramp up operations in stages

DRAM chip vendor SK Hynix partly resumes production at Wuxi fab hit by fire last week

A memory chip vendor which suffered a factory fire last week, sending DRAM prices soaring, partly resumed operations at its Wuxi fab over the weekend.

SK Hynix, which is the world's second-largest DRAM chip manufacturer, suspended operations at the Chinese plant last Wednesday following the blaze, causing DRAM spot prices to spike by about a fifth the next day.

CRN understands that some top memory module vendors, who rely on SK Hynix as a supplier, refused to take any orders on Thursday amid uncertainty over the scale of the potential fallout. Limited orders were accepted during a short window on Friday.

SK Hynix announced on Saturday that the Wuxi line not affected by the fire has now resumed operations after it completed all its safety inspections.

It added that it is continuing its inspections to restore the line that was party damaged by the blaze, in co-operation with the Chinese government.

SK Hynix produces close to a third of the world's memory chips, with its Wuxi plant accounting for about half that total.

"Our plan is to resume normal operations with full production capacity in the shortest time by ramping up operations in stages as soon as the damaged facilities are replaced," SK Hynix said in a statement, according to financial news site Benzinga.

"We will continue to make every effort to minimizse the impact on supply with our inventories of finished products and completely processed wafers as well as production support from our headquarters."

Research house Trendforce said last week that it could be six months before SK Hynix fully rebuilds the clean room that was damaged, adding that the potential damage imparted on the supply end "should not be underestimated".