A Silicon Valley on the Sugarcane Fields--Southern Taiwan Science-based Industrial Park

In early August, during Typhoon Morakot, I left Tainan Airport and sped along the freeway. A few days earlier, a viaduct was completed and opened to traffic, cutting down the travel time between the airport and the park. After just under a half-hour, I arrived at a point in between the three townships of Hsinshi, Shanhwa, and Anting. Then, all of a sudden the storm cleared, and a tremendous vista spread out before me. Laid out before me I could see a perfectly planned sprawl, building after building spread along the roadside, forming a wall of glass. At closer inspection, I could see a mass of different firms, both domestic and foreign; UMC, TSMC, Chi Mei, HannStar, Applied Materials Taiwan, Corning Taiwan, Ta-Yih Group, Scinopharm, and others. Taiwan's bigger, more beautiful second science park has arrived, following in the footsteps of its predecessor at Hsinchu.

Jo Shen, president of Taiwanese company Scinopharm, and Hardy Chan, vice-president of scientific affairs. Years ago, these two started business in Taiwan upon their return from the United States, a company which is now the greatest representative of STSIP.

A light in the economic darkness

The primary site of the Southern Taiwan Science-based Industrial Park (STSIP) is already at 80% development, with just over NT$28 billion in capital invested. It is forecast for completion in 2 years time, ahead of the previously forecast 5 years. As of August, STSIP had already attracted 102 firms, of which 49 had already commenced production. Last year the park broke through the critical point of NT$100 billion in total trade, and employee numbers passed 16,000. For a science park dedicated to new technologies and a mere 7 years into its development, this is phenomenal.

"Over the past year, we've grown by another 28 firms," comments STSIP Administration's Director-General Tai Chien. Despite the fact that the past two years have been widely ackowledged as harsh ones for industry, and with the wider economic situation less than good, firms are still willing to invest there. The hope is that if they feather their nests now, come "springtime" for the industry, they'll be best positioned to benefit.

Also worth mentioning is an STSIP-associated park that covers almost 600 hectares in Kaohsiung County's Luchu Township. Although being new and having been born under less than optimal economic circumstances, it has already attracted 10 enterprises. The park takes the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park's offshoots in Chunan and Tungluo as its model, and hopes to allow more companies to enjoy the benefits of a government-managed industrial zone.

While the Hsinchu park focuses on the silicon wafer and IT industries, STSIP, in addition to attracting 21 semiconductor manufacturers, also focuses on optoelectronics, with 29 optoelectronic workshops involved in all aspects of TFT-LCD production. From transparent media adapters, flat-panel mother glass, backlighting modules, to drive ICs, and conductive glass for LCD screens, they have all areas covered. Most impressive, however, is that of those companies, only three have expanded from Hsinchu, while the other 26 are mostly small or medium-sized firms and start-ups. For them, the completion of STSIP was perfectly timed, providing the perfect foundation for them to sprout, and letting STSIP leapfrog to the top of the optoelectronics world.

Even during typhoons, teachers read to the children at the publicly funded kindergarten, part of STSIP's primary school. Providing a favorable learning environment for its children is one method the park employs to attract tech-savvy people from around the world.

A second-generation science park

"The optoelectronics industry is an intricate one that needs all its industries working together harmoniously," says Nitil Kulkarni, president of American company and global leader in flat-panel mother-glass production Corning Display Technologies' Taiwan division. He points out that with the trend toward larger LCD screens, the facilities to produce and provide super-flat panels quickly and safely have become the first consideration of the industry. With the assortment of companies at STSIP, Corning has been able bring all its plans to fruition.

As Hsu Wen-long, Chairman of Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., said in a recent press release concerning the company's move into the 5G TFT-LCD market, Chi Mei's new 5G plant, which possesses the highest production capacity of its kind, took no more than 15 months from design to completion. And from plant fitting to preliminary testing and initiation of production of the first panels took a record time of just 97 days. This kind of high-efficiency construction has allowed Chi Mei to keep pace with the current upsurge in the optoelectronics industry. This is why, smiling, he says that be they domestic or international, he wouldn't hesitate to recommend STSIP to any interested companies. He's especially glad to see Chi Mei's competitor HannStar Display Corporation has also set up at STSIP; two such strong competitors going head-to-head could attract several related firms to join them.

The epic story of Chi Mei at STSIP, though, was all the result of a happy series of coincidences. Hsu recalls that when, having earned the reputation of "Lord of all he surveys" in Southern Taiwan's petroleum industry, Chi Mei was considering entering the up-and-coming optoelectronics industry, but they were at their wits' end searching for an appropriate location. Then he discovered that his hometown of Tainan was on the verge of constructing a science park, and naturally Chi Mei transformed itself from being an optoelectronic greenhorn to an international powerhouse. With three workshops in operation, they have now broken earth on their fourth, which will add yet another string to Chi Mei's optoelectronics bow.

Ta-Yih Technologies, a major producer of backlighting modules for large, domestically-produced LCD screens, have already invested three years in STSIP. Major clients Chi Mei Optoelectronics and HannStar Display Corporation are also nearby, a combination that has produced huge benefits for the industry.

Tomorrow's shining light

Looking back over the history of STSIP's development, Director-General of STSIP Administration Tai Chien points out, "HSIP is the first generation of science parks, but STSIP is the second generation." In the mid-1990's, Taiwan's IT industry began to take off, and every major company was fighting for the ever-decreasing, prime property at Hsinchu, making it nigh-on impossible to secure a spot there. Then, in July 1996, after considering the levels of industrial development in the north and the south of Taiwan, the government began formulating a plan for a "Southern Taiwan Science Park". When word of this got out, companies flocked over to STSIP to set up shop.

"The conditions were right, so we were happy to dive right in," remembers Jo Shen, President of Scinopharm Taiwan. Unlike Hsinchu, STSIP operated under a "rent, not buy" scheme regarding land for factories, with the monthly rent no more than NT$12.9 per square meter per month, and that of a standard factory was NT$120. Moreover, they offered a one-stop shop for all services and the rates were favorable, so after obtaining permission, Scinopharm immediately set about throwing themselves in the deep end- feet in the mud of the sugarcane fields, sun in their eyes-and setting up shop. At that time, Shen had just returned to Taiwan from the US, bringing with her a couple of dozen foreigners, who set to work building the factory, earning themselves a place in the "founding family" of STSIP.

Biotechnology is the flagship industry of STSIP, Shen points out, although the current level of trade in biotech is comparatively low, compared to major industries like silicon-wafer production and optoelectronics. However, STSIP is dedicated to carving out this new pillar of the technological market, especially given the solid base of rural resources provided by the Chianan plains. Scinopharm's two major stockholders-Uni-President Corp. and Tai Sugar-are also long-time residents of the area, encouraging still more to STSIP. Groups such as the National Center for High-Performance Computing, Academica Sinica's second Laboratory Animal Center, the Taiwan Livestock Research Institute, and the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, have already set up there, thanks to its abundant research resources.

In the future, once the park has established its planned 53 hectare "biotechnology corridor," STSIP will house the nation's most comprehensive biotechnology center, encompassing pharmaceuticals, vaccines, testing, and genetic databasing. All of these will combine and integrate, making a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

Under the cover of moonlight, the "Gateway to the Eastern Dream" footbridge soars like a bird on the wing; alongside stands an overhead water tower, another example of the beauty of STSIP.

Rising from the ashes

Of course, STSIP's establishment owes a great deal to the Hsinchu park. Naturally, Hsinchu's driving force, silicon wafer producers, were also STSIP's largest clients. STSIP Administration Director-General Tai Chien still remembers a time, in 2000, when STSIP was built upon 15 12-inch silicon wafer factories, and industrialists would frequently invest hundreds of billions of dollars. That year, when President Chen Shui-bian took office, Taiwan Semiconductor Corporation (TSMC) chairman Morris Chang gave him the gift of the company's first 12-inch silicon wafer, produced there, raising the semiconductor industry to fever-pitch.

Unfortunately, the bursting of the global dotcom bubble, the flooding from the typhoon that hit in front of the park, problems caused by the vibrations from the high-speed rail, and financial considerations caused a number of wafer fabs to withdraw. TSMC's 12-inch silicon wafer production lines moved back to HSIP, forcing STSIP to make much-needed improvements.

In order to tackle the high-speed rail vibration problem, the National Science Council has been co-ordinating efforts with the THSR Corporation and the firms themselves to undertake a vibration-dampening project. This included paving the rails with a dampening material, and subjecting the silicon wafer factory and production line foundations to a special process. TSMC chairman Morris Chang stated two years ago that, in the future, the vibrations from the HSR would no longer affect silicon wafer production, and TSMC would carry through with its plans to advance and expand operations in STSIP. The TSMC base spans an area equal to six football fields, and is a strong indicator of the revival of the global semi-conductor industry.

As for the flooding problem, $1.8 billion has been invested in the creation of several waterways, with another $700 million set aside for a planned 45-hectare catchment lake and treatment plant. Thanks to this, STSIP has completely extricated itself from the specter of flooding. When Chi Mei Electronics was building its factories, though, they were inundated, and despite the threat of the place being hit again by typhoons, President Ho Chao-yang laughs, Chi Mei "took like a duck to water." Now the path along the serpentine drain, flanked on both sides by willows, allamandas, and crotons, and graced with cool breezes and the occasional white heron at dusk has become a favorite place for the park staff to stroll-the best place to go to take a breather.

It's hard to believe, but just 7 years ago all this was sugarcane fields. Today, under STSIP Administration Director-General Tai Chien's visionary management, it has blossomed into Taiwan's second "Silicon Valley." (courtesy of STSIP Administration)

People make it work

Now that competition in the high-tech industry has blown up, there is a huge demand for talented people, and as far as the firms are concerned, taking care of STSIP's most important asset-the staff-is of no small import.

"People are the be-all and end-all of this industry," STSIP Director-General Tai Chien says. Where HSIP and urban Hsinchu have intermingled, crowded together in a small area, low density has been a huge emphasis for STSIP since the very beginning of development. In total, the over-600 hectare first stage is predicted to contain only 200 firms, while embodying a holistic approach taking into account work, lifestyle, and environment, in an effort to make the hard-working staff feel at home.

According to Austin Hu, senior administrator of Scinopharm, even after four years at STSIP he still loves to stay around after work and wander around the park; maybe to the park's creche building, as it reflects the sun's dying light, a sight so breathtaking he can't tear himself away. Sometimes there are engineers looking along the flat, straight sidewalks out across the scenery, losing themselves in their morning run. Over the next few years here, this setup will result in strong, healthy bodies as well as strong, healthy wallets.

In order to keep the employees healthy, particularly under such high pressure, medical checkups are also an important area for the park. Chi Mei Hospital has established a combined outpatient center in the park, covering four disciplines-family medicine, psychiatrics, gastroenterology, and ophthalmology, chosen after careful examination of the particular requirements of the park. In the event of an emergency, the Chi Mei Medical Centre in central Tainan is only 10 minutes from the park by ambulance, and has a complete after-care facility.

According to Dr. Steven Su, director of the Chi Mei Foundation Hospital, the staff of the park can be divided into two major groups at the science park. The first of these is those who work in the cleanrooms, and the other is the engineers, responsible for R&D, and managers, who are responsibile for the operation of the park.

Of the cleanroom workers, the majority are young women, in four rotating "twin-shifts" (working two successive 12-hour days, then having two consecutive days off), and usually working three months of rotating day and night shifts. This causes them to suffer from disrupted sleep cycles and have their menstrual cycles thrown off-kilter. In addition, working in the cleanrooms, their heads covered, they're unable to chat and joke, and lack human interaction. On top of this, the humidity in the cleanrooms is comparatively low, about 20 percent lower than outside, but the workers dare not drink too much, worried that a visit to the bathroom would take too much time thanks to their cleanroom uniforms. Because of this they hold on, leading to a higher-than-average proportion of employees suffering bladder inflammation.

In order to rectify this problem, Dr. Su makes continual rounds of the various factories, giving advice on healthcare. Sometimes, he says, all that's needed is a few small improvements-for example, adding a few rooms to the women's toilets, and making the system more humanitarian, can improve the situation dramatically.

More interesting are the tasks undertaken to look after testers on optoelectronic production lines. When the staff are testing, the room lights are kept low, but they are constantly staring at screen tubes with the aid of intense overhead lights. In order to avoid eventual damage to their eyes, Chi Mei has a substantial part of their budget set aside for healthcare, and they ask the hospital to give the whole workforce an eye examination every six months. What they never expected to find was that the staff's eyesight wasn't weakening in the slightest; on the contrary, it was improving.

"Perhaps all the stimulation of their eyes is having a reparative effect on them," laughs Dr. Su. Optical health is also of great importance to the engineers and managers, who work around the clock. Dr. Su often reminds workers to take five-minute breaks during meetings, and to blink and roll their eyes a bit to prevent that killer of middle-aged eyes-dryness.

Weapons, musical instruments, day-to-day items, oil paintings... Chi Mei Museum's STSIP branch is a veritable treasure trove. Outside of work, staff can visit to appreciate the displays and find inspiration.

Hoping for more kind consideration

Aside from their own healthcare, which is close to their hearts, the staff's main concern for the education of their children, and this is another of STSIP's major projects. Unlike Hsinchu's experimental primary and middle schools, which are under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Yuan's National Science Council, STSIP's public primary and middle schools are covered by the Tainan County Bureau of Education, and are ranked at the same level as all public primaries, enjoying no special privileges. Although the faculty is quite small, and it has a limited amount of funds, the school still strives to meet all the needs of the staff.

"Aside from the core classes required by the Education Department, we also offer two different streams, 'Local Transfer' and 'Foreign Connection,'" says Lu Chang-tao, principal of STSIP's primary, Nan Kou Primary School. He goes on to explain that the "Local Transfer" is designed for those children who were being raised overseas, and have come back with their parents when they've resettled in Taiwan. These children can need special tutoring and study drills to enhance their level of Chinese, to help them quickly advance to the level of their locally-raised classmates.

This year the bilingual "Foreign Connection" class was opened, aimed at those overseas Chinese or foreign children whose parents have come to Taiwan work under a short-term contract. These children will only be staying with their parents at STSIP for a short time, a couple of years, and then could be leaving, so it's more important that they have classes in English.

In the two years Nan Kou Primary has been running, after starting at an initial roll of 100, the numbers have rocketed to over 600 students, two-thirds of which are local children from the nearby towns of Hsinshi, Anting, and Shanhwa, with the remaining third being children of park employees.

Candidly, Lu remarks that the gap in socio-economic background between the children is huge. Offering an environment in which all the children can enjoy learning, from the extremely attentive rural children to the outspoken children of new employees, is a huge challenge.

In response to the needs of the science park, all teachers at Nan Kou Primary are required to have good English and computer skills. "If you don't have a notebook PC or an LCD projector, or aren't familiar with bulletin and graphics software, I'm sorry, your chances of working at Nan Kou Primary School are virtually nil," says Lu (who can more than hold his own against his juniors, despite being in his 50s.)

Superior education needs substantial investment, says Lu frankly, and as principal, "money hunting" has become his primary function; "If the government would look on us a little more kindly, we'd definitely get better results," he says.

STSIP Director-General Tai Chien is of a similar opinion; he also looks forward to the day when STSIP is looked upon more kindly by the greater world. Research and development, he points out, is the core of industrial development, STSIP is working at attracting other cutting-edge R&D projects; already they are home to such institutes as the National Center for High-performance Computing, the National Science Council Chip Implementation Center, the National Nano Device Laboratories, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute. However, all of these are considered no more than "branches," and their manpower and equipment is still far behind that of their main facility in the north.

Another problem to be considered is traffic access; it's quite a stretch from STSIP to Tainan Airport, Tainan HSR station (planned for Kueijen Village), and the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. Traffic here is nowhere near as fast-paced as at the Hsinchu park, but what's needed more is for everyone to discard their idea that it's too far, and to come and witness the marvel of STSIP with an open mind.

"From a Taipei perspective, STSIP is probably quite a distance; but if you widen your perspective to a global one, STSIP certainly is the most futuristic strongpoint for the industry!" stresses Tai Chien.

In it's seven short years STSIP has pulled itself up from the sugarcane fields, and stands tall and proud, demonstrating its inexhaustible potential. With time, STSIP will certainly shock and amaze people worldwide!