Vishay Extends Critical Manufacturing MES to Semiconductor Business

Summary

PORTO, Portugal - April, 30, 2024 - Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, has extended its roll out of Critical Manufacturing’s MES from its initial site in the USA in 2019 to now include Vishay’s semiconductor manufacturing facilities. On the heels of a global contract that will install the Critical Manufacturing software in more than 30 plants in Vishay’s passive components business, the new agreement will extend it also to Vishay’s semiconductor business, beginning with the Voecklabruck, plant in upper Austria.

Vishay Intertechnology has one of the world’s largest portfolios of semiconductors, including small, medium and high-power diodes and thyristors. Over the past two decades, the company has experienced rapid growth, mostly through strategic acquisitions. It now has factories in more than 50 global locations and is standardizing and consolidating manufacturing operations across these locations.

As Bernd Fankhauser, director operations Fab Voecklabruck, describes the situation: “Our Legacy MES system is nearing the end of its lifecycle. We need a solution that not only replaces all the current functionality but also provides a platform to support future digital transformation initiatives. This could include tighter integration with production equipment, real-time material traceability, workforce certification monitoring, real-time quality monitoring and predictive maintenance.”

As with the MES implementation at its passive components fabs, the fact that Critical Manufacturing could not only replace the legacy MES functionality but also had a full menu of proven modules to support advanced manufacturing operations, was a major selling point.

In the first phase of the semiconductor migration, Vishay will implement core MES modules to standardize batch and lot tracking and tracing of all production steps, including WIP tracking, master data, equipment tracking, alarm, and maintenance management, as well as an advanced interfacing to the SAP ERP system. Phase one will also provide the digital infrastructure for future implementation of advanced digital functionality such as machine integration, labor management and SPC-guided quality control.

Vishay’s Vice President VP for MES and Manufacturing Process Automation Dr. Thomas Amrein comments, “The passives components MES roll out proved that Critical Manufacturing was absolutely the right MES partner for us. We expect that their standardized approach—from functional modules down to pre-made programming objects—will reduce costs not only at the implementation phase but also during operation, helping us optimize return on all production and automation assets.”

Tom Bednarz, sales manager for Tech Europe at Critical Manufacturing added: “Critical Manufacturing MES is the ideal solution for companies that are growing through acquisition, like Vishay. They are poised to become one of the largest and most digitally integrated manufacturing operations in the world. As our collaboration continues, I am quite sure that we will set new standards for operational excellence, agility, and innovation in electronics manufacturing.”

Vishay will initiate the semiconductor migration to Critical Manufacturing MES in the Voecklabruck plant with the possibility of further expanding its functionalities worldwide to other manufacturing locations, both, front- and backend plants.

About Critical Manufacturing

Critical Manufacturing, leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant and a subsidiary of ASMPT, provides the most modern, flexible and configurable manufacturing execution system (MES) available. Critical Manufacturing MES helps manufacturers stay ahead of stringent product traceability and compliance requirements, reduce risk with inherent closed-loop quality, integrate seamlessly with enterprise systems and factory automation, and provide deep intelligence and visibility of global production operations.

As a result, our customers are Industry 4.0 ready. They can compete effectively and profitably by easily adapting their operations to changes in demand, opportunity, or requirements, anywhere, at any time.

About ASMPT

ASMPT is a leading global supplier of hardware and software solutions for the manufacture of semiconductors and electronics. Headquartered in Singapore, ASMPT’s offerings encompass the semiconductor assembly & packaging, and SMT (surface mount technology) industries, ranging from wafer deposition to the various solutions that organize, assemble and package delicate electronic components into a vast range of end-user devices, which include electronics, mobile communications, computing, automotive, industrial and LED (displays). ASMPT partners with customers very closely, with continuous investment in R&D helping to provide cost-effective, industry-shaping solutions that achieve higher productivity, greater reliability and enhanced quality.

ASMPT is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index under the Hang Seng Composite Size Indexes, the Hang Seng Composite Information Technology Industry Index under Hang Seng Composite Industry Indexes and the Hang Seng HK 35 Index.

About Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.

Vishay manufactures one of the world’s largest portfolios of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components that are essential to innovative designs in the automotive, industrial, computing, consumer, telecommunications, military, aerospace and medical markets. Serving customers worldwide, Vishay is The DNA of tech. Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is a Fortune 1,000 Company listed on the NYSE (VSH).