Surplus Global seeing explosive demand for fab equipment from chip shortage 

Surplus Global, a South Korean pre-owned fab equipment seller, said on Wednesday that it was seeing explosive demand for equipment from the chip industry in light the global chip shortage.

CEO Brian Kim told TheElec that Surplus Global’s growth this year is expected to exceed that of the average growth of the global equipment industry.

The due date of new fab equipment is exceeding a year on average, which is leading buyers to look for used fab equipment that can be delivered relatively faster, Kim said.

If demand for new fab equipment increased by 100% recently due to the shortage, demand for used fab equipment increased by up to 130%, the CEO said.

Surplus Global will have no problem in maintaining the right amount of equipment in inventory up to the second half of 2021, he said. 

Surplus Global was also planning on commencing new business that uses its own global network and the semiconductor technology of subsidiary EQ Global, the CEO said.

It was considering multiple options to start its new business such as by ways of operating a test-bed for it or buying companies, Kim added.

Surplus Global is planning to move into the new semiconductor cluster at Yongin in July. Kim said the company plans to hire new talents when it moves into its new headquarters there.