By the fourth quarter of 2006, Chartered had managed to push its break-even utilization rate down to 70 percent, compared with 75 percent in 2005, while in the midst of a less-than-favorable pricing environment. The CEO cited a range of factors behind the company's ability to squeeze more revenue out of its factories, including the improved economies of scale brought in by its 12-inch facility, Fab 7, and the fast pace of its ramp at the plant. The company's efforts to develop a "common platform" with partners IBM Corp. and Samsung were going "very well." The expected qualification of the companies' jointly developed 45-nanometer low-power process in late 2007 will be "another big new step in closing the technology gap," he said.