News: LEDs
11 February 2022
CrayoNano establishes branch in Taiwan
CrayoNano AS of Trondheim, Norway – which develops and manufactures semiconductor components based on patented and proprietary nanomaterials technology – has expanded its operations and established a branch in Taiwan, located in the city of Hsinchu (which has a well-established technology infrastructure and semiconductor community).
The first application of CrayoNano’s nanomaterials technology targets the fast-growing disinfection market with high-quality and performance-driven UV-C ultraviolet short-wavelength light-emitting diodes. “CrayoNano is entering a global market with our UV-C LED technology,” says CEO Jo Uthus. “Securing access to the world’s largest market for manufacturing of semiconductor components is essential for our success. Our Asian operations in Taiwan will be key going forward.”
CrayoNano says that it has learnt from the past 9-12 months of COVID restrictions and global semiconductor supply-chain constraints that control of the supply chain and partnering is an opportunity to leverage the acceleration and commercialization of its UV-C LED products for disinfection. Seeing the continuation of restrictions at the start of 2022 validates the acceleration strategy to take stronger control of the supply chain, reckons CrayoNano.
“By establishing in Taiwan, CrayoNano gets access to the talent and equipment in the region to execute the acceleration of our go-to-market plan,” says Uthus. “The proximity to supply-chain and R&D partners is crucial for releasing CrayoNano’s disruptive nanotechnology-based UV-C LED products and will give us the agility to respond quickly to market changes,” he reckons.
The CrayoNano Taiwan branch will be established as ‘CrayoNano fab2’ with a dedicated cleanroom for full nanowire chip development, processing and packaging capabilities, allowing quick-turn technology transfers to high-volume UV LED foundries. These additional resources will fast-track the industrialization and customization of products based on customer and local market requirements. CrayoNano will leverage existing facilities and manufacturing equipment from its development partners to shorten the time to become operational and reduce the capital expenditure (CapEx) requirements.
“We are setting aggressive milestones for the CrayoNano fab2 to become fully operational during this year with quality assurance and testing, order fulfillment and technology development,” says Uthus. “As we are also extending our ‘Fab 1’ operations in Trondheim, Norway with staff and equipment, we are positioning for massive scalability and growth in the next years to come.”
CrayoNano’s key Asia-Pacific operations will also include sales, marketing and technology development.
