INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

McCarthy gets 300-mm nod

McCarthy has further cemented its ties to MEMC Electronic Materials. The construction firm was hired by MEMC to build the next phase of the wafer supplier's 300-mm R&D line in St. Peters, MO. McCarthy recently completed an expansion project for MEMC's 200-mm wafer plant. The new plan calls for McCarthy to renovate an existing space and build a Class 1 cleanroom for final cleaning of 300-mm wafers. The St. Louis­based construction company will also install 300-mm crystal pullers in a Class 10,000 cleanroom it has already renovated.

Air Products, BOC split bill

Air Products and BOC Gases will evenly split the cost of a new plant in eastern Pennsylvania or New Jersey scheduled to start production in the third quarter of 1999. Expected to cost more than $40 million, the facility will produce more than 1000 tons per day of liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon. The companies say the joint venture will provide a much needed boost in capacity for customers in the northeastern United States.

ASML to move AZ facility

ASM Lithography (ASML) plans to relocate its North American operations center to the Arizona State University Research Park in Tempe. The facility will have nearly double the cleanroom area of the company's current facility in Tempe's Eaton Freeway Industrial Park. The vendor will move to the new site by the second quarter of 1998. At least 300 employees will work at the 97,000-sq-ft facility, which will house the company's worldwide sales and applications operation, as well as its North American service and support organization. The demonstration and training facility will enable the stepper manufacturer to expand its research efforts, according to C. Douglas Marsh, president of U.S. operations and vice president of worldwide sales. ASML has an installed base of more than 850 steppers at sites around the world, the company says.

Parker Alabama plant opens

The instrumentation connectors division of Parker Hannifin opened a 77,000-sq-ft plant in Huntsville, AL, for manufacturing the vendor's UHP couplings and fittings. The facility houses a 2100-sq-ft Class 100 cleanroom for cleaning and inspection.

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