Fujifilm to buy Entregris semiconductor chemicals business

Fujifilm has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire KMG Corporation, the semiconductor high purity process chemicals (HPPC) business of Entegris for $700 million. This will bring it 12 new sites, including seven manufacturing sites in the US, Europe and Singapore, employing about 560.

The company said that it will now be able to offer a wider range of electronic chemicals, including KMG’s line of HPPCs for etching and cleaning silicon wafers. It will also add KMG’s Total Chemical Management (TCM) business, which includes logistical services in Southeast Asia and Europe.

Fujifilm subsequently announced plans to build a new facility for CMP slurries and photolithography-related materials on newly acquired land at its site in Hsinchu, Taiwan. This is due to be operating in 2026. IThe existing ‘Third Taiwan Factory’ in Tainan will also be expanded to include CMP slurry manufacturing capability in a new building that is under construction and should open in spring 2024.

The combined investment will be about $110 million and will create about 50 jobs. In addition, the office function of the adjacent First and Second Taiwan Factories will be integrated into the new facility for reinforced intra-factory collaboration.

Shortly before this, Fujfilm had broken ground on a new €30 million expansion at its electronic materials manufacturing site in Belgium. This is described as one of the biggest capex investments in the semiconductor material supply chain over the last decade in Europe. An unspecified number of new jobs will be created.

The 4,000 m2 expansion, targeted for completion by the end of 2024, will “substantially” increase capacity at the site, as well as more space for cleanroom R&D and quality control labs, while creating a new multi-purpose space for production and warehousing. It will also add solar panels.

All of the expansion has been prompted by strong continuing growth in semiconductor manufacturing. The company aims to make active capital investments and other efforts to accelerate business growth, with the aim of achieving over $3.6 billion in revenues in the global electronic materials business by the 2030 financial year.