Air Products Expands Research and Development Capabilities in Asia
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (December 07, 2006) - Air Products (NYSE:APD), a globally diversified gases and chemicals company, has recently expanded its research and development (R&D) capabilities at both of its Taiwan and Korea labs to support its fast-growing electronics business in Asia. The two R&D labs, equipped with the latest analytical, defect inspection, formulation and cleaning tools, will enable Air Products to better support the development of the advanced integrated circuit (IC) industry to meet customers' needs.
"Asia is our largest and fastest growing region for electronics, and it has an attractive pool of R&D talent. We have been expanding our capabilities in Asia to draw on local expertise and market knowledge to provide improved time-to-market solutions for our customers in Asia," said Corning Painter, vice president and general manager of Global Electronics Division for Air Products. "The expanded capabilities will better position Air Products to offer what our customers value in a more effective and competitive way."
"Our goal is to provide our customers with integrated solutions from materials to processes to services. We will work closely with our OEM partners to provide localized platforms and solutions for our customers across the Asian region and the world," said Dr Chimin Sheu, technology director of Electronics Division Asia for Air Products. "We will continue to build more local capabilities, each with a well-defined mission and a clear business and technology focus. Our aim is to build a distributed Asian R&D cluster in which each capability will complement the others."
Air Products' Taiwan R&D lab, located in Chu-Pei County, is close to the renowned Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. Since 2001 the lab has focused on electronics formulated products (EFP) applications and is equipped with various wafer cleaning and analysis tools. The recent expansion includes a new general chemical lab to conduct chemical screening and process tuning and extra office space to accommodate increased numbers of R&D staff.
Air Products' Korea R&D lab, located in Giheung, is close to the company's major customers in Korea. The centre is equipped with various state-of-the-art analytical tools and a new atomic layer deposition (ALD) system to conduct various high-k dielectrics and barrier precursor and chamber clean studies to meet the request of local customers.
The expansion of Korea and Taiwan labs is Air Products' continuing commitment to strengthen its product leadership through innovative solutions and value added offerings to support the fast-growing business in Asia. Additionally, the company has also significantly upgraded its Performance Materials technical capabilities in China and Japan. The China lab is currently being expanded to accommodate broader R&D work. All these regional labs are fully integrated into Air Products' global technology network. They complement and support each other with focus on best serving our customers through leveraging the company's strengths in material and surface sciences, application and engineering excellence.
Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $9 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and over 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.
