INDUSTRY NEWS

World Beat

Europe

Jenoptik to automate fab

Jenoptik Infab has been chosen by SGS-Thomson Microelectronics for turnkey installation of an automated wafer-isolation system at the chipmaker's fab in Rousset, France. The plant will process 8-in. wafers. It is scheduled to begin full production of ICs with linewidths of 0.35 µm and smaller by the end of 1999. In addition to installing SMIF robots and minienvironments, Jenoptik will be responsible for CIM system design, software integration, equipment integration, and wafer lot tracking.

Rippey opening Irish facility

Rippey, a supplier of PVA products for post-CMP cleaning, will open a full-service facility near Dublin, Ireland, to meet growing European demand for CMP-related products. The branch is expected to be operating at full production in the fourth quarter of this year. The wholly owned subsidiary will handle sales, conversion, distribution, and warehouse operations. Robert Pedersen, Rippey's COO and CFO, notes that the vendor expects its sales in Europe to triple "in the next two to three years." The increase will raise Rippey's European sales from 5% to between 12 and 15% of overall sales, he adds.

Ashland upgrades in Milan

Ashland Chemical increased production volume of high-purity electronic chemicals at its plant in Milan by at least 50%, the company announced. The Dublin, OH­based supplier installed an ultrapure-water plant and new bulk storage facility for incoming material and finished product at the site. The company also has added a blending plant for high-purity hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals.

DuPont ups silica capacity

DuPont is boosting capacity of colloidal silica by 30% at its plant in Ruabon, Wales. The increase is in response to growing demand for CMP slurry. Production is scheduled to begin by the end of this year.

Photronics to buy mask firm

Photomask manufacturer Photronics of Jupiter, FL, has agreed in principle to buy the mask-making operation of a former East German company which was privatized after reunification. Located in Dresden, the facility is owned by MZD Maskenzentrum für Mikrostrukturierung Dresden. The plant uses vector scan E-beam lithography systems made by Leica. Photronics says the tools are capable of supporting 0.35-µm design-rule technology. MZD's sales exceeded $4 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996. All 27 of the employees of the former state-run supplier will be retained, and Photronics plans to upgrade the tool set in order to meet its customers' technological requirements. The vendor declined to divulge the purchase price.

The acquisition gives Photronics three European manufacturing sites. The company recently installed mini-environments at its plant in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and was scheduled to open a facility in Manchester, England, this summer. The 42,000-sq-ft Manchester site houses a Class 1 cleanroom and Alta 3000 laser lithography tools supplied by Etec Systems. Photronics calls the plant the most technologically advanced photomask operation in Europe.

Asia

Empak builds Malaysian plant

Empak expects to trim lead times and reduce shipping costs for Asian customers of its wafer-handling tools with the recent completion of a new plant in Malaysia. The 103,000-sq-ft molding facility is located in Kulim Hi-Tech Park. The site is 150% larger than the company's headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.

Lepco opens Manila office

Lepco has opened an office in Manila to provide services for clients in the Pacific Rim. The Houston-based firm provides engineering, construction, testing, and support services for the microelectronics industry. It recently completed several large projects in the region. The Pacific Rim regional manager is Mike Manning.

MRC has new spares plan

Arizona-based Materials Research Corp. (MRC) has moved its Asia/
Pacific spare-parts inventory to a warehouse operated by an outside vendor in order to expedite delivery to customers in the region. The process equipment and materials supplier will use a warehouse in Tokyo run by SonicAir, a UPS Logistics Group business unit that the vendor has been using in the United States and South Korea. Before making the switch in Japan, MRC had been handling the inventory internally through local distribution offices. Jack Shirley, manager of MRC's worldwide parts business, says the change to the new stocking location will bring the company closer to its goal of forming an integrated worldwide spare-parts supply system.

Consilium hits hundred mark

Consilium recently installed its 25th WorkStream DFS manufacturing execution system in Japan. The Mountain View, CA­based vendor received multiple orders from a Japanese chipmaker for fabs in Japan, two other sites in the Asia/Pacific region, and a fab based in Europe. The Japan installation increases the total installed base of the program to 100 in the Asia/Pacific region. Edward Norton, president of Consilium's semiconductor and electronics business group, says the company receives nearly 50% of its new business from chipmakers in the area.

MicroHome | Search | Current Issue | MicroArchives
Buyers Guide | Media Kit