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Looking beneath the surface of Entegris's Surmet acquisition |
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Aug 20, 2007 at 03:16 PM |
Entegris may have taken the product-launch cake at last month's Semicon West, with a flurry of several new catalog items coming from its fluid-handling, liquid and gas filtration, and reticle and wafer-handling operations.
But it's been awhile since the company has been in M&A mode. You have to go back a few years, when the acquisitional appetites of its corporate forebearers---the original Entegris (and Fluoroware before that) and Mykrolis (and Millipore before that) resulted in the gobbling up of the likes of Aeronex, Extraction Systems, and NT International in the years leading up to the big August 2005 merger.
Today's news that Entegris has bought the semiconductor assets of high-purity coatings manufacturer Surmet piqued my interest. I contacted Steve Cantor, VP of corporate relations for some additional info. Here's an edited transcript of the Q's and A's:
Will Entegris be adding Surmet employees to their staff? If so, how many and where will they be located?
Yes, about 20 employees, [who will be] based in Burlington, MA.
Where will the acquired Surmet assets be manufactured? Any plans to move them to your Minnesotan or Malaysian manufacturing sites? And by the way, which four product lines will be moving to Malaysia?
Entegris currently plans to maintain the Surmet facility in Burlington. Three of the products being moved to Kulim are wafer-handling products, including our newest FOUP, the Spectra.
What is the current and projected size of the overall market incorporating Surmet's semi products?
Surmet's primary business is providing e-chucks for ion implant applications. This is a niche. However, we see a number of additional potential applications for this technology, both in the semi industry and other markets.
Entegris has great expertise in manufacturing plastics/polymers for its products. How does the incorporation of Surmet's ceramics and silicon-film expertise enhance the Entegris materials knowledge and its product line in general?
Surmet's proprietary coatings can be applied with [a proprietary low-temperature coating process] to polymers, metals, and ceramics. Because it is a low-temperature process, it can be used on materials that cannot withstand high temperatures, and it produces high-quality coatings due to lower coefficient of thermal expansion of substrates (less cracking and pinholes). Surmet coatings can provide the benefits of high purity, corrosion resistance, wear and abrasion resistance, low coefficient of friction, low residual stresses, and good barrier properties.
How will Entegris integrate the Surmet semiconductor-grade surface coating technologies/products on current and future Entegris products?
For IP and for competitive reasons it is premature to discuss specific new applications of Surmet's technologies.
What are some nonsemiconductor sectors that Entegris plans to explore with the acquired Surmet assets? (Fuel cells perhaps...)
It is too premature to discuss this. Our immediate focus will be on Surmet's current applications and exploring opportunities to use Surmet's technologies to further differentiate Entegris products.
Is Entegris in discussion with other companies about possible acquisition or licensing moves? In what areas might we expect to see some activity?
Acquisitions are an important part of Entegris's growth. We are looking for bolt-on, strategic acquisitions that are accretive and that leverage Entegris's global infrastructure and its technology.
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