Welcome Remarks

Laith Altimime
President
SEMI Europe

Abstract
Coming Soon

Biography
Laith Altimime, as President of SEMI Europe, leads SEMI’s activities in Europe and the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Altimime has P&L responsibility as well as ownership of all Europe region programs and events, including SEMICON Europa. He is responsible for establishing industry standards, advocacy, community development, expositions, and programs. He provides support and services to SEMI members worldwide that have supply chain interests in Europe. He manages and nurtures relationships with SEMI members in the region and globally as well as with local associations and constituents in industry, government, and academia. Altimime has more than 30 years of international experience in the semiconductor industry. Prior to joining SEMI in 2015, He held senior leadership positions at NEC, KLA-Tencor, Infineon, Qimonda, and imec. Altimime holds an MSc from Heriot-Watt University, Scotland.

Coming Soon

John O’Donnell
Sales Team Manager
VAT Group

Abstract
Coming Soon

Biography
Coming Soon

Winning in the EU: Margin & Complexity Over Volume

Oded Tal
CEO
The MAX Group

Abstract
European fabs cannot outspend the industry’s volume leaders on capital. Leading-edge manufacturers reinvest a large share of their revenue into capacity, a level of spending few companies can sustain, and fewer still can sustain year after year. For most of the industry, including most European fabs, trying to compete this way is not realistic.This talk presents a different strategy. Fabs in the EU do not need to win on volume. They can win on margin instead, running high-mix, high-complexity work where customers pay for reliability and precision rather than the lowest cost per chip. European specialty manufacturers already follow this model, and it comes with a fraction of the capital intensity.Choosing this strategy is the easy part. Running it well is not. High-mix, high-WIP environments are unforgiving of weak operational discipline, and the fabs that get it wrong lose the very margin advantage they set out to capture.This talk draws on field results from directly supporting over 200 fabs globally to unpack what separates fabs that capture the margin advantage from those that lose it to their own complexity, and leaves attendees with a pointed question: is your fab built to compete this way, or just positioned to?

Biography
Oded Tal founded the MAX Group in 1999 and serves as CEO. Under his leadership, MAX has grown into the leading provider of management, operations, and engineering services to the semiconductor industry. He has also held executive roles for MAX clients navigating M&A, including CEO of TSI Semiconductors, where he led its transformation and sale.Before founding MAX, Tal held various positions in the semiconductor and automotive industries in the United States and Israel. After serving in the Israeli Air Force, where he taught piston engine maintenance, he began his career at Computest Automotive Test Equipment in development and operations management. He has served on the CS Mantech technical committee and board of directors, along with other commercial and NGO entities, and currently sits on the board of directors of Enablence Technologies.Tal holds a PhD in industrial engineering from Louisiana State University, where his research focused on hidden losses in automated semiconductor manufacturing. He also holds an MEM in engineering management from Ohio State University and a BS in industrial engineering, with a focus on manufacturing, from the University of New Haven.