$883,000 worth of FAIL
Samsung built a wafer testing machine in its San Jose factory and had it shipped it to another of its factories, this one in Austin, TX. Due to the delicate nature of the equipment, the shipper was told to keep it around 23 Celsius.
Guess what happened?
From the
Austin American-Statesman:
Samsung sues shippers
Machine for fab ruined when shipped at too cold a temperature, chipmaker claims
The difference between 23 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Fahrenheit is about $883,000, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Samsung Austin Semiconductor.
Samsung filed a federal lawsuit Monday on behalf of its insurance companies, seeking to recover the cost of a wafer analysis machine rendered useless when it was shipped at too cold a temperature.
The machines test the semiconductors that the company produces at its Austin plants.
The chip maker and its insurers want three shipping companies to pay $883,000 for the equipment, according to the complaint filed Monday at U.S. District Court in Austin.
The suit names Air Express International USA Inc., DHL Global Forwarding and Southern Refrigerated Transport Inc. as defendants.
A bit more:
According to Samsung's complaint, a Southern Refrigerated tractor-trailer hauled the machine from San Jose, Calif., to one of the chip maker's two factories in Austin. Because of its delicate, temperature-sensitive optical devices, the equipment had to be kept at temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius in transit.
A message left for Tony Smith, president of Texarkana, Ark.-based Southern Refrigerated, was not returned Friday.
"(The) driver incorrectly set the temperature on the ... trailer at 23 degrees Fahrenheit," Samsung said in the complaint, adding that the "sub-freezing temperatures damaged sensitive portions of the machine" and left it "worthless but for salvage value."
Oopsie...
Posted by DaveH at May 17, 2008 8:22 PM