Ulvac to set up R&D center and production plant in Tainan

Taipei, Feb. 28, 2003 (CENS)--Ulvac Taiwan Inc., the local subsidiary of Ulvac Japan Ltd., a leading vacuum technology company, recently applied to set up an R&D center and production plant in southern Taiwan's Tainan Science-based Industrial Park (TSIP).

Ulvac said that it would jointly develop seventh-generation thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) production equipment with optoelectronic partners at the industrial park.

The TSIP Administration said that the Japan Interchange Association (JIS) headed an inspection delegation to the park and expressed high satisfaction with the production environments and conditions there. The administration said it anticipated allowing Ulvac to set up a new plant in the park to make the optoelectronic manufacturing infrastructure more comprehensive during JIS' inspection trip and not long after the delegation left the local subsidiary filed its application forms.

The TSIP covers 1,038 acres and an additional 571-acre site nearby is ready for future expansion. The park administration said that the good peripheral conditions and sufficient land make the park an ideal base for high-tech manufacturing businesses.

In addition, the park administration claimed, another 130-acre site next to Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO)'s thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) plants in the region is also available for LCD parts makers to form a flat panel display production and development cluster there.

Established in 1982, Ulvac Taiwan is a fully owned subsidiary of Ulvac Japan. In the past two years, it has grown to become the most profitable affiliate of the Japanese vacuum technology conglomerate as the island has been actively developing its optoelectronic industry.

Currently, the Taiwan subsidiary supplies mainly vacuum equipment for fifth-generation and over TFT-LCD plants and 12-inch silicon wafer fabrication facilities.

The TSIP Administration said that Ulvac's future R&D center and production plant in the park are expected to further upgrade the island's development capability in precision machinery, electrical control and production process advancement. Ulvac's investment in Taiwan would also cut local makers' costs in equipment procurement as well as repair and maintenance.