Wireless draws test centers to China

With its huge population, its opening to foreign products, and its drive to modernize, China has become the world's largest mobile phone market. That opportunity is prompting companies to locate product test facilities in China. The most recent Chinese ventures come from TriQuint Semiconductor (Hillsboro, OR; http://www.tqs.com) and Fairchild Semiconductor (South Portland, ME; http://www.fairchildsemi.com).

TriQuint, a supplier of both components and modules for communications applications, has just completed a 1100-m² facility in Tainjin. The facility will be operated by Sawtek, a subsidiary of TriQuint, and will provide assembly, test, mark, and tape and reel support for TriQuint's products that serve the cell phone market.

Fairchild, a supplier of analog and power components used in communications and other applications, will be completing its facility by this summer. The facility, located in the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, will start with a 400,000-ft² facility that will include assembly and test and an automated warehouse for logic, power, and analog products. An additional 400,000-ft² expansion is planned.