Leader Mutual Freight (LMF) was delighted to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 12-inch chip fabrication plant in Sherman, Texas belonging to Taiwanese firm GlobalWafers, the world’s third largest silicon wafer supplier. Our Dallas bureau presented two potted orchid plants that brought a beautiful dash of color to the stage during that grey wintery day.

The new fab is about a ten-minute ride from GlobiTech, a silicon-epitaxy services company purchased by GlobalWafers in 2008. That was the year of the subprime mortgage crisis, but GlobalWafers Chairperson and CEO Doris Hsu saw fit to purchase 58 hectares of land in Sherman as part of the firm’s future expansion plans.

Among the dignitaries in attendance were political representatives and business leaders, including White House and Congress members like US Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Texas State Representative Angie Chen Button. Dr. Charles Ku, an esteemed member of the Dallas expat community, was also present.

Accompanied by Director-General Robert Fu-wen Lo of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston, Taiwan’s Representative to the United States Bi-khim Hsiao took to the stage to deliver a congratulatory speech. LMF was one of the two international freight forwarders invited to attend; altogether, over 200 guests witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony.

Many Taiwanese technology pioneers were also present. President Tom Wang of KLA Taiwan flew in from the global semiconductor supplier’s Taiwanese bureau at the Hsinchu Science Park. Jack Wu, VP and head of business development at Formosa Plastics Corporation’s Texas branch, also drove five hours from Houston to Sherman.

Per Taiwanese tradition, the LMF delegation presented two potted orchid plants to congratulate GlobalWafers on its successful expansion. To our delight, these flowers were placed on the main stage by the event organizers.

LMF’s partnership with GlobiTech spans two decades. A year after launching the LMF Dallas office in 2002, we began working with GlobiTech on imports and exports by air and sea freight. Now that GlobiTech is a subsidiary of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers, LMF looks forward to another 20 years of fruitful partnership.