What does Flanders Semiconductors stand for?
In a season of chip industry-centric initiatives, here comes Flanders Semiconductors, a non-profit organization that aims to create a new European hub for semiconductor innovation in the Flemish region. Its founding members include BelGan, Caeleste, Cochlear, easics, ICsense, NXP, Pharrowtech, Sofics, and Spectricity.
These companies have joined hands to create a unified platform that can represent the semiconductor industry at every level. That includes infrastructure, equipment, materials, processing, testing, and devices.
Figure 1 Flanders Semiconductors aims to represent member companies’ local, regional, and international interests.
The Flemish semiconductor industry employs over 3,000 people, with more than 50 companies having semiconductors as their core business and over 100 firms defining, testing, and integrating semiconductor devices or technologies. The idea is to have an outfit that can foster collaboration, drive innovation, and catalyze growth within the semiconductor industry in this region.
Flanders Semiconductors, based in Leuven, Belgium, will have imec as its high-tech neighbor, which is expected to be a vital support to this aspiring semiconductor technology hub. Then there are local facilities inside universities and research institutes that will likely support Flanders with their semiconductor R&D, education, and training.
Flanders, while open to all qualifying companies with semiconductors as their primary business, is also welcoming universities, R&D organizations, and non-qualifying companies as associate members. The unveiling of the Flanders Semiconductor association is set for 13 September 2023 in Leuven.
Flanders Semiconductors aims to grow the talent pool, share industry roadmaps, maintain a yearly business events calendar, and represent members’ interests at international level. The new organization itself boasts a dedicated team of seasoned semiconductor professionals led by Lou Hermans, who has over three decades of industry expertise.
Figure 2 Lou Hermans, president of Flanders Semiconductors, is a European semiconductor industry veteran. Source: Flanders Semiconductors
Flanders Semiconductors is focused on semiconductor design and complementary areas like materials, processing, and testing. More importantly, it’d most likely want to build a presence on top of the progress that its high-tech neighbor imec has made in advanced semiconductor technologies and translate that into creating a viable design ecosystem for the Flemish semiconductor business.
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