Company history

Fico, founded in 1956 by Stef Fierkens, started as a toolshop in Herwen. In the years following, the Fico, founded in 1956 by Stef Fierkens, started as a toolshop in Herwen. In the years following, the Fico company was one of the first to embark on the manufacture of molds for encapsulation of micro-electronic and other small precision devices. In the seventies Fico started to focus on the emerging semiconductor industry. Fico expanded significantly to become one of the leaders on the molding, trim & form and singulation market.


In the nineties Fico became a subsidiary of BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi). As the name Fico is very well know in the market, it remained to be used as the company name. The brand name Fico is still to be found on all products.

Seventies

Throughout the seventies into the mid eighties, the industry standard for transfer molding techniques was the multi chase mold. This mold was mounted on a transfer molding press with clamping pressures ranging from 75 to 200 metric tons. For encapsulation of the different package types in large lot sizes the emphasis was on high output and low overall production costs. Epoxy savings were a significant factor as was the exchangeability of wear parts in molds. The product life cycle was relatively long. Besides minimum long term investments, material usage and cost of ownership were determining factors as well. The Fico mold design, that proved to be the most economical, was the one that enabled exchange of wear parts in the field requiring zero growth capability throughout its lifetime. The techniques used led to yields of 99.9%.
By the end of seventies Fico was the first to introduce a fully automatic trim & form system; the Fico BEL (Back End Line) into the market. Soon to be followed by other automatic systems, anticipating on and following market trends.

Eighties

In the early eighties Fico introduced the multiplunger molding technique. This resulted in high volume process automation on high level machines. By following the trend of decreased lot sizes, system concepts with lower volume throughputs were produced. Since the eighties, the increased die size with larger circuits meant more leads on a package, implying overall tighter specifications on the molded package and leadframe material. The impact of the package design on handling of the products further down the assembly and test line, led to different requirements for transfer molding and trim & form equipment. By this time the two product groups were split into separate companies, but both stil using the Fico name.

In the late eighties, an intensified growth of more complex, higher leadcount devices took place. The emphasis was world wide on high volume systems, meaning roughly 500 strips per hour, with fast cure compounds. But two different trends in packaging could be distinguished: the low and the high volume production. The low volume range consisted of high leadcount, more complex packages with a forecasted short product life cycle. In order to respond to this market demand, Fico developed systems with a higher degree of flexibility to accommodate different product types. Another development was a complete new range of low volume, 100 strips per hour systems, with a short product change over time.

Nineties

In the early nineties Fico introduced a new generation of automatic molding and trim & form systems, with an electromechanical drive and greater reliability and flexibility. The modular approach of these systems guaranteed a broad and flexible field of use. These systems eliminate the contamination risks associated with hydraulic fluids and can therefore be used in clean room environments.

Due to integration of other processes that the traditional trim & forming process, other process steps where developed such as lasermarking, vision inspection, final product testing in strip.
For the newer generation of semiconductors using array connect technology in which the molded substrates are singulated into individually packages through specialized sawing machines and through new cutting techniques by means of laser technology.

Package production volume has increased from 400 package types in the late nineties to over a thousand in the coming years, for both leadframe and array connect devices. In a short time the micro-electronics industry has shown a rapid and sustained growth. So has Fico; for each new generation in semiconductor devices, it has developed new production systems, meeting the demands of the top of the industry.

The 20th century

After the turn of the century, the two Ficos were re-joined in the same building, but still functioning as individual companies. And in 2006 both molding and trim & form were joined again into one Fico, followed in 2007 by Fico Singulation. In 2006 Fico celebrated its 50th anniversary. With this anniversary, Fico is one of the long time runners in the semiconductor industry.