OTHER ELECTRONICS & NANOTECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY UPDATE
October
2018
McIlvaine Company
Holitech to Invest in New Plant in India
Construction Begins On North Carolina State University’s
New Engineering Building
UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology Park Breaks Ground
MCPc Cyber Education Center at Mercyhurst University
Holitech Plans Plant in India for Xiaomi Components
Fujifilm to Build Large-Scale Cleanroom at Taiwan Factory
ESS Particle Accelerator Cleanrooms
Corning to Invest in Manufacturing Facility
Analog Devices Breaks Ground on New Global HQ
Dell EMC Unveils AI Ready Solutions In Taiwan
Covestro Opens VaCS Testing Facility in China
Praxair To Sell European Assets to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Ahead
of Linde Merger
Holitech to Invest in New Plant in India
Holitech, the
Chinese manufacturer and solutions provider in the electronic field, has signed
a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of the Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh on investment in electronics manufacturing in the country.
The signing
ceremony, held on 6 August, was attended by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Nara
Chandra Babu Naidu, Chen Guisheng, Holitech president and Manu Jain, vice
president of Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing.
The component
manufacturing plant in Tirupati will be spread across 30.3 hectares (75 acres)
of land and nearly 50% of the space will be cleanrooms.
According to the
MOU, Holitech will invest US$200 million in a new plant in Tirupati, southern
Andhra Pradesh, to produce camera modules (CCM), color liquid crystal display
(TFT), capacitive touchscreen modules (CTP), flexible printed circuit board
(FPC) and fingerprint identification module (BR). The project would create about
6,000 jobs for the next three years in the local area.
The production
capacity is said to start with nearly 50 million each component per year.
Xiaomi has
witnessed significant growth in India and according to Manu Kumar Jain, head of
Xiaomi India, the company is positive that Holitech's plans for India "will set
a new motion in place for the electronics manufacturing industry" in the
country.
The news follows
on from the Xiaomi's Supplier Investment Summit held in April. The company
hosted over 50 component companies from around the world to showcase the
manufacturing ecosystem in India with the aim of helping them set up local
manufacturing units in the country.
Xiaomi believes
that if all the suppliers set base in India, this would lead to one of the
biggest ever single investment in the electronic manufacturing industry,
creating a big pool of jobs.
Construction Begins On North Carolina State
University’s New Engineering Building
North Carolina
State University graduates over 2,500 engineers and computer scientists every
year, and future students will soon have a new engineering building to call
home. Fitts-Woolard Hall is a 224,000 sq. ft., four-story building that will
complete the College of Engineering’s move to NC State’s Centennial Campus.
The building
will support broad initiatives in areas such as advanced materials and
manufacturing, robotics and sensor technology, service sector engineering,
critical infrastructure and security, transportation and logistics, and energy
and environmental systems.
The building
will house the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering,
the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, and the
College of Engineering Dean’s administrative offices.
Two entrance
lobbies are connected by a wide corridor with views into engineering labs and
open stairs. The first floor is built into the slope of the site with a concrete
structure and below-grade cast-in-place retaining walls. The second floor is
cast-in-place elevated slab construction while levels three, four, and the roof
will be steel-frame construction. The skin of the building will consist of
curtainwall and brick veneer.
The building
will comprise heavy labs, light labs, classrooms, grad spaces, and
administration offices.
UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology Park Breaks Ground
The building is
the first of many planned for the 122-acre campus.
Gardner Company,
UNLV, and the UNLV Research Foundation (UNLV RF), recently announced the
groundbreaking of the first innovation building on the new Harry Reid Research
and Technology Park campus.
The four-story,
111,000 sq. ft. facility will serve as a testing ground for new ideas and
businesses that will help to strengthen both the university and the larger
community of Southern Nevada. The building marks the beginning of the 122-acre
master planned development located near the intersection of Sunset and Durango
in Las Vegas.
“Research and
economic development activities are on the rise at UNLV, and this building will
help us take our efforts to the next level,” said Zachary Miles, UNLV Associate
Vice President for Economic Development and Executive Director of the UNLV
Research Foundation. “Research parks encourage more direct collaboration between
industry and university research than is often possible on college campuses.
Once fully
developed, the campus is projected to create up to 25,000 new jobs and $2.6
billion in direct and indirect economic impact for the city. EVA Architects is
the architect for the project.
MCPc Cyber Education Center at Mercyhurst University
Cost: $2 million
Size: 8,000 sq.
ft.
Project team:
Keyman Asefi, in the Department of Interior Architecture & Design under the
guidance of Mercyhurst President Michael T. Victor (designer); Cal Pifer, vice
president for external relations and advancement; David Myron, vice president
for finance and administration; Kidder Wachter Architecture & Design (architect
of record); Frontier General Contracting (construction); MCPc, George I. Alden
Trust, Hewlett-Packard, Lui Damasceno and Family, KeyBank Foundation (project
supporters)
The MCPc Cyber
Education Center at Mercyhurst University is part of the Ridge College of
Intelligence Studies and Information Sciences, the oldest and largest
intelligence program of its kind in academia. This state-of-the-art cyber
training and cyber mitigation facility includes four separate spaces: a Cyber
Security Lab, a Security Operations Room and two Computer Labs.
The Cyber
Security Lab features 20 individual terminals, each outfitted with high-end
computing power and large monitors. The lab operates on an independent network
with its own servers and firewalls, completely isolated from the campus network.
In addition, the lab features virtual forensic workstations, mobile devices for
exploitation tests, threat-analysis software packages, and other relevant
platforms.
The Security
Operations Room will be staffed and operated by Cleveland-based technology firm
MCPc. Two full-time MCPc employees will work with and hire Mercyhurst students
to address real-time cyber security threats.
The Computer
Labs will be used to support additional programs within Mercyhurst’s Ridge
College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences. Home to the oldest and
largest Intelligence Studies program in the U.S., the Ridge College is the
largest of Mercyhurst’s four academic colleges, with more than 700 undergraduate
students.
The MCPc Cyber
Education Center strengthens Mercyhurst’s technical capabilities to provide both
analysis work and threat penetration testing to corporations and the government.
Completion date:
Aug. 2, 2018
Holitech Plans Plant in India for Xiaomi Components
Chinese
component maker, Holitech Technology, who is also a major supplier for Xiaomi
smartphones, plans to invest $200 million in three years for a local
manufacturing plant in India.
The company has
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state of Andhra Pradesh and
will start local manufacturing in the temple city of Tirupati for Xiaomi.
The plant would
be spread across 75 acres of land in the city of Tirupati and is likely to start
production with a capacity of nearly 50 million components per year. The plant
will be nearly 50 percent cleanroom.
The local
manufacturing is likely to start in the first quarter of 2019, where Holitech
Technology will manufacture compact camera modules (CCM), thin film transistor
(TFT), capacitive touchscreen module (CTP), flexible printed circuits (FPC), and
fingerprint sensor locally at the Andhra Pradesh facility.
This investment
is likely to generate 6000 jobs in three years.
Flame Chen,
co-founder and CEO, Holitech Technology said, "The phenomenal growth of Xiaomi
along with their initiatives to promote local manufacturing has encouraged us to
explore component manufacturing for Xiaomi in India. We are pleased to bring
several industry firsts to the state of Andhra Pradesh with the manufacturing of
camera modules, TFT, CTP, FPC and fingerprint sensors and high-quality clean
room construction and propel the growth of component manufacturing in India."
According to
Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India, the
company has witnessed significant growth in the country and is positive that
Holitech's plans for India will set a new motion in place for the electronics
manufacturing industry in India.
“Holitech is an
important global component supplier of Xiaomi and with their entry in India; we
are positive that a new era of local manufacturing will begin with several job
creations and other component manufacturers also coming in," he added.
Xiaomi, India’s
number 1 smartphone brand announced that Holitech Technology, its key component
supplier will start component manufacturing in India. Holitech Technology has
signed a MoU with the state of Andhra Pradesh and will start local manufacturing
in the city of Tirupati for Xiaomi.
Holitech
Technology would be investing nearly 200 million USD over three years in the
country and would be the first manufacturer in India manufacturing Compact
Camera Modules (CCM), Thin Film Transistor (TFT), Capacitive Touch Screen module
(CTP), Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC), and fingerprint sensor locally. The
local manufacturing is likely to start by Q1 2019
and it aims to generate 6000 jobs in three years.
The component
manufacturing plant would be spread across 75 acres of land in the city of
Tirupati and start mass production with production capacity of nearly 50 million
each component per year. The plant will also boast of nearly 50% cleanroom, an
industry first which is being extended as an incentive by the state of Andhra
Pradesh. A cleanroom is a contained space where provisions are made to reduce
particulate contamination and control other environmental parameters such as
temperature, humidity and pressure. The state of Andhra Pradesh has extended
several incentives for the establishment of the manufacturing plants in terms of
tax, land and power subsidy along with several other incentives.
Manu Jain, Vice
President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said, “Xiaomi has
witnessed significant growth in the country and we are positive that Holitech’s
plans for India will set a new motion in place for the electronics manufacturing
industry in India. Holitech is an
important global component supplier of Xiaomi and with their entry in India, we
are positive that a new era of local manufacturing will begin with several job
creations and other component manufacturers also coming in. As a brand dedicated
to the cause of Make in India, we are proud to be leading this initiative from
the front for the entire nation and hope everyone can make best specs, highest
quality products accessible to the country at honest pricing.”
Flame Chen,
Co-Founder and CEO, Holitech Technology said, “The phenomenal growth of Xiaomi
along with their initiatives to promote local manufacturing has encouraged us to
explore component manufacturing for Xiaomi in India. We are pleased to bring
several industry firsts to the state of Andhra Pradesh with the manufacturing of
camera modules, TFT, CTP, FPC and fingerprint sensors and high quality clean
room construction and take propel the growth of component manufacturing in
India. We hope to further boost this initiative by setting an example for other
component manufacturers, and being a part of Xiaomi’s growth in India.”
This comes
shortly after Xiaomi India organized a first of its kind global Supplier
Investment Summit in April 2018. The objective of this summit was to encourage
its top 50 global suppliers to locally manufacture in India. With the purpose of
exploring investment opportunities, the suppliers had visited potential
locations for establishing manufacturing units in the state. They had also paid
a visit to the state of Andhra Pradesh
where they were addressed by Sh. Nara Lokesh, Minister of Information
Technology, Govt of Andhra Pradesh and Honorable Chief Minister, Mr. Chandrababu
Naidu where they spent time discussing electronics manufacturing industry
opportunities in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The suppliers had also visited the
manufacturing facilities of Foxconn in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh including the
recently announced plants in the state, dedicated towards manufacturing of
smartphones for Xiaomi.
Fujifilm to Build Large-Scale Cleanroom at Taiwan Factory
Fujifilm
Corporation has announced that it will substantially reinforce its production
capacity for interchangeable lenses in response to a growing demand for
mirrorless digital cameras.
Additional
production facilities will be set up at the Taiwan factory of FUJIFILM Optics
Co., Ltd. (“FFOP”), a subsidiary for producing cameras and lenses in Japan.
Among new
facilities to be installed are a large-scale cleanroom featuring the
cutting-edge cleanroom analyzer, and other latest facilities that use AI and IoT
to improve accuracy in optical adjustments.
This will enable
the production of interchangeable lenses at high quality and efficiency,
resulting in advanced productivity in manufacturing ultra-wide-angle lenses and
large-diameter lenses, which require a high level of image resolving
performance.
The new
facilities will go operational in stages starting in September 2018. This
expansion will boost the production capacity by approximately 70% in 2020, when
all of the new facilities go fully operational.
Fujifilm entered
into the mirrorless digital camera market in 2012 and continued to expand the
lineup of the X Series of highly maneuverable APS-C mirrorless digital cameras.
In March 2017,
the company introduced the FUJIFILM GFX 50S ( GFX 50S), a medium-format
mirrorless digital camera featuring a large sensor 1.7 times the area of a 35mm
full-size sensor.
Tapping into the
optical technologies nurtured through the production of Fujinon lenses, widely
used in the broadcasting and cinematography industries, Fujifilm has worked on
developing interchangeable lenses with excellent descriptive performance. The
current lineup of interchangeable lenses includes 36 models, with sales
expanding at the rate of over 20% per annum.
Fujifilm said it
will continue to tap into its optical, precision processing and assembling
technologies that have been nurtured in the cutting-edge imaging field over many
years, to further expand the lineup of mirrorless digital cameras and
interchangeable lenses, thereby broadening the photographic appeal of the X
Series and GFX Series.
ESS Particle Accelerator Cleanrooms
Science and
Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a science organization that supports
research in development in many disciplines, including particle physics.
STFC has worked
closely with Connect 2 Cleanrooms over the years, using the cleanroom
specialists to engineer contamination control solutions to meet their niche
requirements. When STFC had a need for a cleanroom for The European Spallation
Source (ESS) Sweden, it was Connect 2 Cleanrooms who won the tender and were
successful in delivering the two cleanroom projects for ESS Sweden through STFC.
These cleanrooms
are currently facilitating the build and operation of a particle accelerator,
which will be the world’s most powerful neutron source, enabling scientific
breakthroughs in research.
The first
cleanroom supplied was to allow ESS to establish their own experiences and
procedures on how they are going to build the accelerator. Once this cleanroom
experience was established, STFC provided Connect 2 Cleanrooms with the concept
for the second mobile cleanroom.
The particle
accelerator is being built in sections within this ISO Class 5 mobile cleanroom
at ESS facilities in Sweden. These sections are initially built outside of the
tunnel, as there are fewer restrictions on space and better access to
infrastructure.
Accelerator
sections are built in the cleanroom, once completed they are checked and sealed
before being transported down the tunnel.
Inside the
tunnel ESS have mobile cleanrooms to allow the interconnection of different
accelerator sections maintaining ISO 5 conditions. This is an ongoing process,
with the accelerator commissioning due in 2021.
To ensure an
efficient cleanroom installation in Sweden, Connect 2 Cleanrooms first performed
a “dry-build” at its facility in Lancaster, supervised by STFC. This ensured the
cleanroom delivered on site in Sweden was 100 percent functional and to
specification. This off-site construction also allows for a cleaner, more
efficient build on site, as there will be no on site modifications.
The size of the
tunnel presented a challenge for the mobile cleanroom. With an overall height of
4 meters, the services needed to operate the accelerator, such as water and
compressed air, at points bring the height down to 3.5 meters.
For this reason,
STFC requested the mobile cleanroom to be in three different sections. Each
section could operate independently, but also could be connected together when
in position. One section is also height adjustable so that it can move freely
under the services, then be adjusted to a full height when in position.
As the mobile
cleanroom was to be relocated frequently, it was built with a robust stainless
steel construction.
STFC generated a
user requirements specification (URS) document which we were to follow, due to
their very niche knowledge and requirements. The team worked to STFC’s brief and
added value to the design in terms of the fine detail, such as how to connect
the cleanroom units together and perform the height alteration.
Key features
include:
Three separate
cleanroom “pods” which interconnect to form a single footprint
Mobile pods for
the manufacture and in situ tunnel install of the particle accelerator
One pod height
adjustable to facilitate a difference in relocation and operational heights
Meet particle
counts according to ISO 14644-1:2015 Class 5, through ULPA filtration
Overall
footprint: 6.91m² with an internal height of 2.83m which can be altered to 3.5m
Tool area:
1.62m² (1.21m x 1.34m) - 187no. air changes per hour at 0.45m/s
Change area:
2.66m² (1.21m x 2.2m) - 114no. air changes per hour at 0.36m/s
Work area:
2.64m² (1.2m x 2.2m) - 143no. air changes per hour at 0.45m/s
LED task
lighting for sensitive and precise work
Corning to Invest in Manufacturing Facility
Retrofitted
facility will be third Corning manufacturing site in Hefei, China
Corning
Incorporated announced that, with the support of the Hefei government, it will
invest in an existing production facility in the Hefei Xinzhan Hi-Tech
Industrial Development Zone in the Anhui Province, China, for its Automotive
Glass Solutions business.
This facility,
which Corning expects to be fully operational in 2019, will produce Corning
Gorilla Glass for Automotive Interiors, a durable and optically advantaged cover
glass solution specially designed for automotive interior applications.
Retrofitting an existing facility will help Corning bring on new capacity
quickly and efficiently in advancing the growth of its automotive glass
solutions business.
“Corning is
excited to be delivering technical glass solutions that address and accelerate
the adoption of more dynamic and visually appealing in-vehicle infotainment
systems. Our cover-glass innovations deliver advantaged performance and
economics versus commodity materials and are driving significant pull for our
products,” said Michael Kunigonis, vice president and general manager, Corning
Automotive Glass Solutions. “Corning’s investment will deliver the capability,
quality and capacity the auto industry needs to drive innovation and supply
drivers with the connectivity and user experience they desire.”
Corning’s
decades-long leadership in the display, mobile consumer electronics, and
automotive markets positions the company to deliver advanced technical glass
solutions and an extensive partner ecosystem to its auto glass customers.
Corning helped create the first displays in 1947 with its television picture
tubes and revolutionized the industry with LCD glass in the early 2000s. In the
automotive industry, Corning has 40+ years of OEM market presence with its
cellular ceramic substrates that take harmful emissions out of vehicle exhaust
systems. For mobile consumer electronics, Corning has been a leading cover glass
supplier for top OEMs since 2007, with Corning® Gorilla® Glass having been
featured on more than five billion devices worldwide.
This
manufacturing facility demonstrates Corning’s continued commitment to China and
marks the company’s third investment in Hefei within the past three years.
Corning Environmental Technologies announced a new facility focused on its
gasoline particulate filter product line and Corning Display Technologies
recently opened the world’s largest LCD glass substrate facility to supply BOE,
China’s leading panel maker.
“Corning has
been committed to the China auto industry since we first entered the China
market in the early 1980s, and this investment underscores Corning’s
longstanding support of this market,” said Li Fang, president and general
manager, Corning Greater China. “Corning selects its manufacturing locations to
be close to our customers, which makes Hefei an ideal location. Additionally, we
have found Hefei to have excellent infrastructure and a solid base of skilled
local talent. We appreciate the support we have received from the Hefei
municipal government and the industrial development leadership from Anhui
provincial officials.”
About Corning
Incorporated:
Corning
(www.corning.com) is one of the world's leading innovators in materials science,
with a more than 165-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning
applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and
optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities
to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance
people's lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique
combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based
relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries.
Corning's
capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve
to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new
opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning's markets include optical
communications, mobile consumer electronics, display technology, automotive, and
life sciences vessels. Corning's industry-leading products include
damage-resistant cover glass for mobile devices; precision glass for advanced
displays; optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions for
state-of-the-art communications networks; trusted products to accelerate drug
discovery and delivery; and clean-air technologies for cars and trucks.
Analog Devices Breaks Ground on New Global HQ
Analog Devices
Inc of Norwood, MA, USA (which provides mixed-signal ICs for cable access) has
officially broken ground on its new global headquarters in Wilmington, MA, in a
ceremony attended by Jay Ash (Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), Senator Bruce Tarr, Jeff Hull (manager of
the Town of Wilmington) and other dignitaries from the Commonwealth, Associated
Industries of Massachusetts, the Town of Wilmington Board of Selectmen and
Finance Committee.
The expanded
facility will feature laboratories, as well as design and manufacturing and
cross-functional group collaboration space. In addition to 147,000 sq. ft. extra
for R&D, the headquarters will include a 50,000 sq. ft. Hub comprising a café,
fitness facility and auditorium designed to enable and encourage employees from
all departments and functions to gather, connect and engage. Analog Devices
partnered with architect Steven Baker on design, and Lee Kennedy for
construction. The firm anticipates moving into the new buildings by 2020.
“We have
invested and upgraded our facilities globally to provide more modern, latest
technological and work design advances, to support and foster the highest level
of innovation,” says John Hassett, senior VP of global operations and
technology. “This new campus will be our global showcase – enabling us to
highlight our best work, attract top talent and build new partnerships.”
With a presence
in Wilmington dating back to 1981, Analog Devices is the longest-standing and
largest manufacturer in the town, supporting the local community from
underwriting local STEM scholarships to sponsoring athletics and contributing to
environmental causes.
Dell EMC Unveils AI Ready Solutions In Taiwan
Dell EMC has
introduced its AI ready solutions into the Taiwan market. The solutions,
co-developed with Nvidia and Intel, are empowered by integrated server and
storage capabilities to enable fast deployment of related AI technology by
enterprise clients, according to Lee Pai-fei, technology Dell EMC Taiwan.
Dell is
launching the AI ready solutions to enhance its presence in the sector as the
potential contribution of related AI application to the global economy is
forecast to reach US$15.7 trillion by 2030, Lee said.
The AI industry
is still in its infant stage as currently only 4% of enterprises worldwide have
deployed basic AI solutions, with the US and China being the fastest growing
markets, Lee noted.
Dell's AI-ready
solutions are designed to meet the need for machine learning and deep learning
by enterprises, Lee said. In the field of deep learning, the Dell EMC Deep
Learning Ready is built using Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd and C4140 servers with
four NVIDIA Tesla V100-SXM2 Tensor core graphics processors, supporting Dell EMC
Isilon F800 all-flash NAS storage.
Meanwhile, Dell
is promoting machine learning using Hadoop-based solution jointly developed with
Cloudera and Intel. The verified Dell EMC Hadoop ready solution works to
optimize solution stacking, as well as data and analytics architectures, in
addition to allowing the system to run quickly, and extending the existing
Hadoop environment for machine learning, Lee said.
Lee also claimed
that Dell EMC AI ready solutions deliver twice the performance as compared to
rival products and can effectively increase the productivity of data scientists
by 30%, while shortening the maintenance time by at least 6-12 months, and also
the training time of each stage to seven minutes from five hours.
Covestro Opens VaCS Testing Facility in China
German materials
manufacturer Covestro broadens its service capabilities. The company invested a
mid-single-digit-million RMB sum to establish a testing laboratory for so called
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in its ‘Polymer Research and Development
Center’ (PRDC) in Shanghai. Testing of VOCs is important to closely monitor and
prevent unwanted emissions from materials. With the new lab, the company is able
to test the materials itself, more efficiently and in line with customer demands
as well as increasing regulations.
With China on the way to an
innovation-driven and high-quality-production economy, also regulations pick up.
In the automotive industry, for example, China wants to become a global leader
for electric vehicles with the highest quality. New regulations in various
areas, for instance on the used interieur materials, are thus imposed to achieve
the desired quality and make products compatible on a global stage. Covestro
delivers the quality for this leap – be it in polyurethane soft foam for the
seats or in coatings for the interieur surfaces: The company applies the same
standards to its products in all of its facilities around the world and to all
of its customers. With the new VOCs lab in Shanghai, it can apply those
standards in China now even more efficiently.
“With this
facility, we combine the know-how of formulating our products as well as testing
them under one roof,” said Dr. Christian Haessler, Head of PRDC for Covestro.
“That brings us one step closer to being a total solution provider and enables
us to react swiftly to customer demands as well as changing regulations with
regards to VOCs.”
Especially for
the automotive industry it is important to create a better in-car experience for
consumers and thus monitor VOC-emissions closely. With its new facility,
Covestro can do the testing and the application development all at once. The
former process of sending samples to external testing facilities that had no
formulation capacity is thereby omitted. This makes an ever closer alignment
between Covestro and its customers possible, establishing VOCs testing at the
beginning of the value chain instead of at the very end. Only already thoroughly
tested products get sent out externally to acquire the needed final
certification. This saves feedback loops and valuable customer’s time and shows
Covestro’s strong commitment to serving customer’s needs.
About Covestro:
With 2017 sales
of EUR 14.1 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies.
Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer
materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many
areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction,
wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other
sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry
itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately
16,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2017.
Praxair To Sell European Assets to Taiyo Nippon Sanso
Ahead of Linde Merger
Praxair, Inc.,
in accordance with its proposed business combination with Linde AG (Munich,
Germany, has signed an agreement to sell the majority of its businesses in
Europe to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. The businesses generated annual sales of
approximately €1.3 billion in 2017. The purchase price for this transaction is
€5.0 billion in cash consideration
and is subject to customary adjustments at closing. This agreement is
conditioned on the successful consummation of the Praxair-Linde merger and other
regulatory approvals.
“We are taking a
constructive approach to address regulatory concerns with the merger in the
European Economic Area,” said Steve Angel, Praxair chairman and chief executive
officer. “Taiyo Nippon Sanso is a strong and capable global industrial gas buyer
for our assets and we are pleased that they will continue to serve the needs of
our customers in Europe.”
The assets to be
sold include Praxair’s industrial gases businesses in Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and
the United Kingdom and include approximately 2,500 employees.
Praxair and
Linde continue to work diligently with the relevant antitrust authorities with
the objective of closing the merger during the second half of 2018.
“With this
acquisition, we are seizing a unique opportunity to enter the European market
and establish a truly global footprint through the purchase of highly attractive
assets in all the key geographies in the European Union. We look forward to
growing these highly profitable businesses and welcoming the experienced and
dedicated Praxair European team to TNSC,” said Yujiro Ichihara, President CEO,
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation.
Praxair will
continue to own, operate and maintain these businesses until the closing of the
merger and this European divestiture transaction.
Credit Suisse
Securities acted as exclusive financial advisors to Praxair and McDermott Will &
Emery UK LLP as legal advisors.
Mizuho
Securities acted as primary financial advisors to TSNC and Greenberg Traurig LLP
as legal advisors.
McIlvaine Company
Northfield, IL
60093-2743
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847-784-0012; Fax:
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