TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo:6502) today announced that it will demolish the No. 2 semiconductor fabrication facility (Fab 2) at Yokkaichi Operations, the company’s NAND Flash memory plant in Mie prefecture, Japan, and replace it with a new fab on the same site. Toshiba also entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) to invest jointly in the new facility. The primary purpose of the new wafer fab is to secure space for converting existing Toshiba and SanDisk 2D NAND capacity to 3D NAND beginning in 2016.

Demolition work on the current Fab 2 will start in May with construction beginning in September 2014, with a target completion date of Summer 2015. The clean room within the new fab will be built in phases to align the clean room investment with the timing of conversion of 2D NAND capacity to 3D NAND. Construction of the initial cleanroom will be complete in time for 2016 output. Decisions on capacity conversion ramp and equipment investment, the start of production, and production levels in the new fab will reflect market trends.

The new fab will provide a supplementary facility for processes mainly dedicated to 3D NAND memory production, and work in close cooperation with Yokkaichi’s other facilities. Toshiba and SanDisk will support 3D memory production with leading-edge manufacturing equipment for lithography, deposition and etching through joint ventures.

Yasuo Naruke, Corporate Senior Vice President of Toshiba Corporation and President and CEO of Semiconductor & Storage Products Company, said, “Our determination to develop advanced technologies underlines our commitment to respond to continued demand of NAND flash memory. We are confident that our joint venture with SanDisk will allow us to produce cost competitive next generation memories at Yokkaichi. ”

Sanjay Mehrotra, President and Chief Executive Officer of SanDisk, said: “We are pleased to continue our long-standing collaboration with Toshiba in this new wafer fab, which will advance our leadership in memory technology into the 3D NAND era.”

The new fab will have a quake absorbing structure and an environmentally friendly design that includes LED lighting throughout the building. It will also be equipped with the latest energy saving manufacturing equipment, which will secure productivity advances while lowering power consumption. Highly efficient use of waste heat will help to lower fuel consumption and cut CO₂ emissions by 15% compared to Fab 5, currently the most advanced fab on the Yokkaichi site.

Toshiba and SanDisk will, through joint ventures, maximize investment efficiency in the transition to 3D NAND by making full use of the Yokkaichi site. Going forward, the companies will continue to jointly develop advanced process technology, and make investments to meet market requirements.

About Toshiba

Toshiba is a world-leading diversified manufacturer, solutions provider and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products and systems. Toshiba Group brings innovation and imagination to a wide range of businesses: digital products, including LCD TVs, notebook PCs, retail solutions and MFPs; electronic devices, including semiconductors, storage products and materials; industrial and social infrastructure systems, including power generation systems, smart community solutions, medical systems and escalators & elevators; and home appliances.

Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 590 consolidated companies, with 206,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 5.8 trillion yen (US$61 billion). Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, is a global leader in flash storage solutions. For more than 25 years, SanDisk has expanded the possibilities of storage, providing trusted and innovative products that have transformed the electronics industry. Today, SanDisk’s quality, state-of-the-art solutions are at the heart of many of the world's largest data centers, and embedded in advanced smart phones, tablets and PCs. SanDisk’s consumer products are available at hundreds of thousands of retail stores worldwide. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com.

SanDisk Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about demolition and construction schedules, our timing expectations for first wafer outs, expected production focus at the new clean room, development of new technologies and products and leadership in NAND memory. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: general business and economic conditions; the ability to ramp the new production lines and realize expected manufacturing yields, efficiencies and cost-effectiveness; construction and manufacturing difficulties or delays; the failure to reach definitive agreements or the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this release.