15 October 2012

ATMI expands Asian customer support with High Productivity Development Center and manufacturing facility

ATMI Inc of Danbury, CT, USA (which provides specialty semiconductor materials and high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions) plans to further increase its commitment to the Asia-Pacific microelectronics markets, and South Korea customers in particular, through a new manufacturing facility to be built in JangAn, Gyeonggi province, where the investment has been commemorated with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by ATMI customers and employees, officials from the Gyeonggi province and Hwaseong city governments and ATMI executives. The facility is expected to be ready for high-volume production in second-half 2013.

ATMI also announced the completion of its fifth global High Productivity Development Center (and the third in Asia), inside the facilities of the Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center (KANC) in Suwon. The center is fully operational, with customer work already underway.

“Our manufacturing investments in South Korea will strengthen our supply chain and improve our interactions with leading customers,” says chairman, CEO & president Doug Neugold. “Our High Productivity Development investment will further enhance our ability to partner with our customers in Asia, enabling our local customers and ATMI to work together to solve problems more quickly and comprehensively than before,” he adds. “Proximity to our customers enables our teams to better collaborate on defining problems, react quickly as knowledge is gained, and move solutions to production rapidly, bringing operational efficiencies throughout our supply chain.”

The new 11,000m2 (118,000ft2) facility will manufacture products for semiconductor production, including: SDS (Safe Delivery Source) and VAC (Vacuum-Actuated Cylinder) gas delivery systems and materials for semiconductor and solar ion-implant applications; NOWPak liner-based liquid delivery systems used in photolithography and display applications; and advanced materials used primarily for leading-edge semiconductor thin-film deposition and surface preparation applications. Current plans project that the new facility will have about 100 staff and cost $24m to build.

ATMI says that its existing global network of High Productivity Development Centers in Danbury, CT and San Jose, CA, USA, Kyoto, Japan and Hsinchu, Taiwan, are designed to help customers identify and validate new chemistry solutions rapidly through quicker learning cycles, saving time and money and reducing risks. The new center in Suwon will serve the same purpose and is now equipped for research, development and applications support of new surface preparation and cleaning chemistries, and deposition materials. ATMI plans to expand R&D capabilities there for packaging materials and customized chemical development to support existing ATMI business with customers in the area.

“We have developed significant business opportunities in Asia, and our new facilities and capabilities here will deliver on these opportunities in a direct and efficient way,” says Cheoroo Won, ATMI’s VP/general manager for Asia. “South Korea is a logical location for investing in building capacity, as the local technical expertise and infrastructure is very strong. In addition, it allows us to more closely collaborate with our customers locally, providing access to more services and improved response times.”

Tags: ATMI

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