SAFC Hitech to build plant in Taiwan to service LEDs
Expands ability to serve the Asian market
SAFC Hitech, a division of the Sigma-Aldrich Group, plans to build a new, dedicated facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for transfilling, technical service and production of chemical precursors used for high brightness LED and silicon semiconductor manufacturing. The announcement follows the March production expansion of trimethylgallium (TMG) at its Bromborough, UK manufacturing site.
The new facility, expected to be operational by the end of 2011, will extend the company's ability to serve the Asian market.
SAFC Hitech already operates a facility in Kaohsiung, which handles and characterises highly specialised laboratory-scale chemicals and features a dedicated customer support centre. This site is certified to ISO 9001 for quality and ISO 14001 for safety and environmental protocols.
The facility was originally built to service the semi-conductor industry demands for ultra-high quality precursors using proprietary technologies. The site also provides integrated inert atmosphere transfilling stations, analytical instrumentation for the detection of ultra-low metallic and oxygen-containing contaminants and dedicated cylinder preparation and packaging areas.
SAFC Hitech says the new investment will move current operations into a new environment that will expand its transfilling and technical service base, as well as add significant capacity for the dedicated manufacturing of high-quality precursors to support the growing High Brightness LED (HBLED) market and ALD and CVD precursors for the silicon semiconductor market. HBLEDs are used in applications such as backlighting in flat panel television sets and energy efficient lighting.
“As mass manufacturing continues its rise, we are experiencing significant increases in customer and partnership activities in the Asia-Pacific region, which aligns nicely with our core commitment to driving global expansion in the production of precursors for the rapidly expanding HBLED market,” said Philip Rose, SAFC Hitech president.