Hanmi Semiconductor wins $18 million tool deal from Samsung

Hanmi Semiconductor signed a 24.48 billion won ($18.2 million) packaging equipment supply contract with Samsung Electro-Mechanics on Oct. 6, 2026, marking its first large purchase order from the component maker.

The contract represents 4.24% of Hanmi Semiconductor's 2025 consolidated revenue of 576.68 billion won. The supplier will deliver large-area micro saw and vision placement systems for manufacturing artificial intelligence substrate packages.

Deliveries run from Oct. 2, 2026 to Dec. 17, 2027 under a 441-day contract term, according to a regulatory filing. The order expands equipment supply for flip-chip ball grid array substrates used in computing accelerators.

Micro saw and vision placement systems perform downstream packaging tasks after semiconductor dies are attached. The equipment dices substrate strips with high-precision blades, washes the units, inspects them optically and sorts them into carrier trays.

The machinery processes packages across memory and system architectures, including printed circuit boards, high-bandwidth memory modules and glass substrates. Advanced substrates require tight cutting tolerances to prevent micro-cracking across dense interconnect layers.

Hanmi Semiconductor commercialized its first-generation vision placement systems in 1998. The company previously imported precision dicing saw modules from Japan's Disco Corp. to complete the integrated assembly lines.

The toolmaker developed an in-house precision saw after Japan imposed export controls on advanced materials in 2019. Hanmi Semiconductor released its proprietary micro SAW brand in 2021, replacing imported Japanese cutting units.

Domestic production allowed Hanmi Semiconductor to capture the world's largest market share in package sawing tools. Integrating in-house dicing mechanisms with high-speed placement tables cut delivery lead times and improved margin control.

Shipments of micro saw and vision placement tools reached more than 200 units between January and August 2026, more than doubling year-on-year totals. The supplier expects annual shipments to reach roughly 350 units next year.

Market rumors on Tuesday mischaracterized the agreement as a 24.5 billion won thermal compression bonder contract for global artificial intelligence memory buyers. Regulatory filings show that Hanmi Semiconductor signed no thermal compression bonder contracts on Oct. 6.

The company holds dominant market share supplying thermal compression bonders to SK hynix and Micron Technology for stacking high-bandwidth memory. However, Tuesday's contract covers substrate cutting and sorting systems rather than memory die-stacking bonders.

The order marks a resumption of major commercial business between Hanmi Semiconductor and Samsung Group affiliates. Procurement had dropped sharply after Hanmi Semiconductor won a patent infringement lawsuit in 2012 against Samsung Electronics equipment subsidiary Secron, now SEMES.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics had maintained small, sporadic orders with Hanmi Semiconductor over previous years. Tuesday's agreement represents the first large single purchase order between the two companies in more than a decade.

Hanmi Semiconductor issued a statement on Tuesday titled "Hanmi Semiconductor, Welcome Samsung Group" to mark the agreement. The company framed the supply deal as a platform to broaden commercial ties across Samsung affiliates.

The company has built stable supplies of high-precision equipment through internal technology development and vertical manufacturing, Hanmi Semiconductor Chairman Kwak Dong-shin said. Hanmi Semiconductor will focus on customer satisfaction and on-time delivery across the project schedule, Kwak said.

The equipment maker assigned dedicated after-sales engineering personnel and exclusive service vehicles to the customer's manufacturing plants. The on-site team will manage installation, calibration and maintenance to safeguard substrate production schedules.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has expanded capital spending on flip-chip ball grid array lines, including a 4.27 trillion won facility program at its Sejong campus. The investment targets multi-layer package substrates for cloud servers and automotive processors.

High-density packaging substrates require larger surface areas and increased layer counts to host multi-chip artificial intelligence processors. Those technical specifications require high-throughput dicing and inspection tools to maintain packaging yields.

The regulatory filing does not state how many micro saw and vision placement machines Samsung Electro-Mechanics ordered, and Hanmi Semiconductor did not disclose unit pricing for the contract.

Equipment deliveries will proceed across the 441-day contract window through Dec. 17, 2027, with tool installation and final acceptance testing taking place at the customer's domestic packaging substrate facilities.