Investing $60 million! STMicroelectronics to Build and Launch Advanced FOPLP Pilot Chip Line

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Industry News

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2025-09-18

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Chipmaker STMicroelectronics (STM.US) announced on Wednesday that it will invest $60 million in its factory located in Tours, France, with plans to establish a pilot production line for advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology at the site.

The French-Italian joint venture stated that it will develop next-generation advanced process technologies at the Tours factory. Meanwhile, as early as October last year, STMicroelectronics had already begun relocating several outdated chip production lines from the Tours facility following the announcement of a large-scale restructuring plan.

STMicroelectronics said in a statement: "This project focuses on building advanced manufacturing infrastructure, while also redefining core operations for certain plants in France and Italy to support their long-term, sustainable growth."

As one of Europe's largest chip manufacturers, STMicroelectronics has launched a cost-cutting plan after its key markets experienced years of sluggishness, with plans to implement layoffs at factories such as the one in Tours. This move has already sparked opposition from unions and other stakeholders. Currently, the governments of Italy and France jointly hold 27.5% of the chipmaker's shares through a holding company.

The new technology planned for development this time is called "Panel-Level Packaging (PLP)." With this technology, STMicroelectronics can manufacture chips directly on large, square panels, replacing the traditional small, round silicon wafers.

The company revealed that it has already implemented this technology at a customer's facility in Muar, Malaysia, where the plant can produce over 5 million chips daily.

In traditional chip manufacturing, several production steps must be carried out in Asia, where manufacturing costs are lower. However, PLP technology eliminates these steps altogether. Combined with its inherent economies of scale and higher levels of automation, PLP makes it possible to produce chips locally in Europe.

STMicroelectronics expects the pilot production line at the Tours facility to become operational in the third quarter of 2026.

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