SCHMID Group N.V. (NASDAQ: SHMD) has received an order for key wet-process equipment from a U.S.-based pioneer in glass-based Advanced Packaging for its new glass core substrate manufacturing facility in South Asia.

A Landmark Facility for South Asia

According to the customer's public announcements, the facility will be South Asia's first Advanced Packaging site built around glass substrates and 3D heterogeneous integration.

Once fully ramped, it is designed to produce around 70,000 glass panels per year, together with glass interposers and advanced 3D heterogeneous integration modules for AI, data center, 5G, and aerospace & defense applications.

The project marks one of the first large-scale and significant steps toward volume manufacturing of glass core substrates, a substrate technology expected to become a key enabler for the next generation of AI processors, high-performance computing, and data center hardware.

The customer has spent close to two decades developing proprietary photo-definable glass-ceramic and through-glass via (TGV) technology, protected by a broad patent portfolio and backed by leading semiconductor industry investors.

With the new facility, the customer is moving its glass technology from development and pilot production into industrial-scale manufacturing.

SCHMID's Role in the Process Chain

SCHMID will supply key wet-process equipment for critical process steps in glass core substrate manufacturing, which the company says are decisive for yield, reliability, and cost.

With its combined expertise in wet processing, plating, and vacuum metallization on a panel level, SCHMID supports customers along the critical process chain of glass core substrate manufacturing, from TGV formation and metallization to build-up layers.

The company expanded its Advanced Packaging portfolio over the last years with dedicated equipment and process solutions for glass core substrates, complementing its established InfinityLine platforms for IC substrates, HDI, and mSAP manufacturing.

According to SCHMID, the order confirms that the industry is moving from technology evaluation and qualification toward industrial-scale glass core substrate capacity and that SCHMID is positioned as a key technology partner in this transition.

Why Glass Core Substrates Matter

Glass core substrates offer significant advantages over conventional organic cores, including superior flatness and dimensional stability, lower warpage in large package formats, finer line/space structures, higher interconnect density, and improved signal integrity.

These properties are becoming essential as AI accelerators and chiplet-based architectures demand ever larger and more complex packages.

Executive Perspective

"We are proud that a pioneer in glass-based Advanced Packaging has chosen SCHMID as a key equipment partner for this landmark facility. This project is one of the first large-scale steps of our industry towards volume manufacturing of glass core substrates, and SCHMID contributes key technology to it," said Roland Rettenmeier, Chief Sales Officer of the SCHMID Group.

"Glass core substrates will be one of the enabling technologies for the next generation of AI and high-performance computing. Manufacturing them at scale requires processes that deliver precise through-glass vias, reliable metallization, and stable yields on large panel formats. This is exactly where our process know-how and our equipment platforms make the difference," Rettenmeier added.

He also noted that the order underlines South Asia's growing role in the global semiconductor and Advanced Packaging supply chain and that SCHMID looks forward to supporting its customer from installation through ramp-up to high-volume production.

Fabrication Frenzy: Why Asia-Pacific's Chip Boom Demands a Sharper Project Radar

Every new fab announced in Asia-Pacific adds billions in capex, thousands of procurement decisions, and a maze of subcontractors to track. If your team is still piecing together intelligence from scattered news alerts and static reports, you're already losing ground to competitors who see the full pipeline first.

The Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research gives you a live, structured view of semiconductor capital projects across the Asia-Pacific region, from mega-fabs to packaging plants.

Whether you sell fab equipment, construction materials, EPC services, or specialty chemicals, timing is everything. Getting in front of the right decision-maker months before tendering can be the difference between a record year and a missed quota.

• Upcoming Projects

• Tender Notices

• Contract Awards

• Projects Under Construction

• Completed Projects

Book a Free Demo of the Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research and put the entire Asia-Pacific semiconductor project pipeline at your fingertips.