Seeq Technology Inc of San Jose, California is closing its 10-year-old silicon wafer fabrication plant in April: chairman Daniel McCranie says the move marks the end of an era for Seeq as it has struggled for profitability for a decade as a small semiconductor company, primarily because of the running costs of the wafer fab; Ralph Harms, chief financial officer, adds that the products have been manufactured by outside foundries for the past two years through agreements with Philips Components-Signetics in 1989 and Hualon Microelectronics Corp in 1990, and the most recent agreement with International Microelectronics Products Inc in November enabled Seeq to phase out wafer fabrication; the company has now converted its plant into a pre-production and process development facility; a $5.0m charge will be recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 1992 to cover cost of closure of the plant which will include equipment write-offs, lease costs and employee redundancy payments.
