|
|
d
|
Earl Peacock had never seen a silicon wafer before that day in 1995 when he walked through the door of the company he later would come to own. Montco Silicon Technologies Inc. in Royersford recycles silicon wafers, the shiny flat disks that most often are outfitted with electronic components and sliced into computer chips for use in computers, cars, television sets, and even talking greeting cards. The wafers that Montco Silicon recycles have already been used in testing procedures, or have failed to meet a chip-maker's specifications for use. The semiconductor industry has become a multibillion-dollar global enterprise, with newer, faster computer chips the subjects of glitzy advertising campaigns. But those complex chip designs still get applied to a pretty basic material: silicon. "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, chip manufacturers started realizing how much money they could save buying reclaimed wafers," said Peacock, president and owner of Montco Silicon. For example, a reclaimed wafer 4 inches in diameter might sell for $4 to $8. A new wafer of the same size would cost about $20, Peacock said. Rather than being used in new products, most reclaimed wafers are used as test wafers, which companies use to monitor production and calibrate equipment. "Theoretically, a reclaim is not as good as a prime [previously unused wafer], because there is more chance for impurities," said Danny Lam, a semiconductor-industry expert in Alabama. "But for a lot of applications, you couldn't tell the difference." Because new silicon wafers are becoming technically more intricate and therefore more expensive, more companies are turning to reclamation as a means to control costs, Elizabeth Schumann, a senior analyst for the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International trade association, said. "Companies can go through quite a lot of these test wafers," she said. The trade association estimates that the worldwide market for reclaimed wafers is between $50 million and $100 million, and is growing at a faster rate than the prime wafer market. Worldwide business for all silicon wafers is expected to rise from about $5.6 billion last year to about $5.9 billion this year, according to a report by Rose Associates, a research firm that analyzes trends in the semiconductor business. The firm estimates that all silicon wafers produced this year would fill a space equal to one square mile. Wafer reclamation involves stripping the original coatings or tiny patterns of electronics from a wafer's top layer so that new circuitry can be mounted. Next, a process called lapping removes a layer of silicon that is just one-thousandth of an inch thick in order to eliminate areas where the silicon may have been damaged. Etching (which removes any coatings that might still be on the silicon and relieves stress), polishing and cleaning follow. In the end, the wafers are made to each customer's requirements for thickness, size, type and resistance to electricity. About 70 percent of Montco Silicon's customers are computer-chip manufacturers. Other customers include research firms and optics manufacturers. AstroPower Inc. in Newark, Del., regularly buys reclaimed wafers from Montco Silicon to make silicon solar cells, which produce electricity when hit by sunlight, Dane Holland, director of advanced projects at AstroPower, said. While Montco Silicon has some international clients, most of its customers are in Silicon Valley, Texas or New England, Peacock said. "We've been running at full capacity for so long, we haven't even had a chance to approach local wafer users, like Lucent Technologies and GMT" Microelectronics Corp. in Norristown, said Peacock, 41, who co-owns the business with his wife, Amy Bechtle Peacock. Founded in 1983, Montco Silicon was not profitable until 1996 - the year after Peacock arrived. Revenues rose from $57,000 in 1994 to $1.09 million last year, earning the firm a ranking of No. 167 on Deloitte & Touche L.L.P.'s Technology Fast 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing technology companies, ranked by increase in revenue over five years. Peacock estimated that his firm would have revenues of about $1.7 million for 1999 and $2.5 million for 2000. He said Montco Silicon was working on a deal to purchase a Texas firm in the wafer-reclamation business. "You can't do something like this without everyone on staff doing their job," Peacock said. "Everyone has worked extra hours." Even Peacock's wife and mother come in some weekends to size and sort wafers. His brother, Robert, a minority owner of the firm and chief financial officer of Paragon Computer Professionals Inc. in Cranford, N.J., helps with Montco Silicon's financial planning and stops in occasionally to help run the machines. In 1997, Montco Silicon started buying and selling prime, or new, wafers as well. Six months ago, Peacock hired Christine Henke as sales manager to expand that side of the business. Peacock came to this high-tech business by way of the construction industry. He had been a superintendent for Construction Coordinated Inc., a large commercial contractor in Conshohocken. In early 1995, Terri Milton, whom Peacock had known since childhood, asked him to review the business operations of Montco Silicon. She was the daughter of the owner, Robert Milton. Peacock agreed to look. After Peacock had put in about a month's work for Montco Silicon, Robert Milton made Peacock an offer he could not refuse: If he would take a full-time job as manager, "I'd get 50 percent of the profits if the company went profitable," Peacock said. Montco Silicon, which Peacock purchased in February, has turned a profit each year since 1996, and has increased its staff from five to 14. It operates from a 10,000-square-foot office on the first floor of the former Needleworks factory in Royersford, where needles were made from the early to mid-1900s. Its turnaround did not come soon enough for some clients. "Motorola used to gobble up every wafer we could produce," Peacock said. "By the time we were able to produce the quality of wafers we need, we had lost the account." Today, Montco Silicon can refinish from 700 to 1,500 wafers per day, depending on their size, Peacock said. That capacity will double in the next few weeks after operating hours are expanded from 13 to 20 per day, and three additional polishers are up and running, Peacock said. Because capital equipment is expensive, Peacock said he constantly looks for close-out sales and searches for deals on the Internet. Last year, he was able to buy five polishers for a total of $2,500 from an Ohio manufacturer of prime wafers that went bankrupt. Previously, Montco Silicon had purchased polishers at $15,000 each from the same company while it was in business. More recently, Peacock purchased a six-month-old water-processing system for $15,000 from a Houston company that was downsizing. He found the deal on the Internet. The new system will enable Montco Silicon to process pure de-ionized water on-site. This type of water is needed in the cleaning process to prevent metals and other particles from clinging to the silicon wafers. The new equipment holds 1,550 gallons of water, and processes 25 gallons per minute. "Before, we were having a supplier fill our five tanks every week," Peacock said. "We had to shut down production for 20 minutes to an hour every time they came."
Copyright 1999 PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPERS INC.
|
||||||||
