Fairchild Semiconductor's Assembly and Test Facility in China to be Complete 2nd Quarter 2003.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2003

Will Aid Expanding Leadership in Products to Optimize System Power

While Saving As Much as 30% in Manufacturing Costs

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS), one of the largest global suppliers of high performance products that optimize system power in multiple end markets, today announced the first phase of the company's state-of-the-art, 800,000 square foot assembly, test and warehouse facility in Suzhou, China is on schedule to be completed by the second quarter 2003. Qualification runs are underway, and more than 250 employees are being trained to bring the plant into production quickly. Fairchild expects to save as much as 30% on assembly and test costs with the new facility.

The Suzhou plant is key to the company's global strategy. In 2002, Fairchild set a goal to more than double sales in China by 2004 and the company is on track to meet this accomplishment. According to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS, October 2002), IC consumption in China is expected to reach $28.7 billion by 2005, representing a compound annual growth rate of 25.5%.

The facility in Suzhou is one of the many initiatives Fairchild has undertaken to position the company to capture a large segment of the China market. The company has also expanded alliances with key design houses to develop systems reference designs; increased market penetration in the key high-growth sectors including consumer goods, ultraportables, personal computing and telecom infrastructure; aligned product line resources to focus on China; and is launching leading edge products for target segments.

"We're pleased with the outstanding rate of progress our Suzhou team has delivered to complete phase one of our world-class manufacturing and warehouse facility," said Kirk Pond, president, CEO and chairman of the Board. "This plant will be the first facility completely constructed by Fairchild and will support our focus to provide industry-leading products that optimize system power for our global customers.

"Fairchild remains focused on strategies that enable us to continue to gain market share, better serve customers worldwide and expand into new market opportunities such as China, while tightly managing operational costs in this challenging economic environment," continued Pond. "Our number one goal is to better serve our diverse customer base with products for applications such as home appliances, monitors, audio/video, chargers/adapters, power supplies, telecom infrastructure, PDAs, color TVs, mobile phones, and PCs."

Phase one of the building project is the 400,000 square foot assembly, test and automated warehouse facility. Phase two is the incremental addition to the assembly, test and warehouse facility which will occupy an additional 400,000 square feet, and is expected to be built in the next few years. The Suzhou facility is designed to produce Fairchild's power discrete, logic and analog products for both the local China market and for export to the rest of Asia, Europe and the Americas.

With the new factory, Fairchild will reduce the amount of outsourced assembly and test production required, balance the company's dependence on outside contractors, ensure more effective cost control, enhance production ramps for new products, strengthen the supply and logistic channel and provide needed assembly and test capacity.

The facility is located within the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CSSIP) in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park is one of China's most successful industrial locations. Jiangsu Province is second only to Guangdong Province in terms of electronics production, and output for 2001 in this province is expected to be $8.3 billion.

Fairchild Semiconductor:

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) is a leading global supplier of high performance products for multiple end markets. With a focus on developing leading edge power and interface solutions to enable the electronics of today and tomorrow, Fairchild's components are used in computing, communications, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. Fairchild's 10,000 employees design, manufacture and market power, analog & mixed signal, interface, logic, and optoelectronics products from its headquarters in South Portland, Maine, USA and numerous locations around the world. Please contact us on the web at www.fairchildsemi.com.

Special Note on Forward-Looking Statements:

The statements in the above press release are forward-looking statements that are based on management's assumptions and expectations and that involve risk and uncertainty. Other forward-looking statements may also be found in this news release. Forward-looking statements usually, but do not always, contain forward-looking terminology such as "we believe," "we expect," or "we anticipate," or refer to management's expectations about Fairchild's future performance. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Among these factors are the following: changes in overall global or regional economic or political conditions (including as a result of terrorist attacks and responses to them); changes in demand for our products; changes in inventories at our customers and distributors; technological and product development risks; availability of manufacturing capacity; availability of raw materials; competitors' actions; loss of key customers; order cancellations or reduced bookings; changes in manufacturing yields or output; and significant litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in the company's quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available at the Investor Relations section of Fairchild Semiconductor's web site at investor.fairchildsemi.com or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.