SAFC Hitech® Facility Expansion in Taiwan Enhances Global Capacity for High-Brightness LED Manufacturing

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Following the March 2010 production expansion of trimethylgallium (TMG) at its Bromborough, UK manufacturing site, SAFC Hitech®, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich® Group, reinforced its commitment to the Asia-Pacific electronics markets by announcing plans to build a new, dedicated facility in Kaohsiung, Taiwan for transfilling, technical service and production of LED and silicon semiconductor precursors.  The new facility, expected to be operational by late 2011, will extend the Company's ability to serve the Asian market, leveraging the knowledge and capabilities developed at its existing Kaohsiung facility.

The new investment will transition current operations into a new environment that is expected to expand the Company's transfilling and technical service base, as well as add significant capacity for the dedicated manufacturing of high-quality precursors to support the burgeoning High Brightness LED (HBLED) market and ALD and CVD precursors for the silicon semiconductor market.

Increased focus on improving efficiency and reducing energy costs through technology and design advances is driving the electronics sector to roll out more 'energy-conscious' products and systems.  Due to the resulting exponential rise in demand for LEDs, and in particular HBLEDs that are used in applications such as backlighting in flat panel television sets and energy efficient lighting, SAFC Hitech continues to strengthen its leading position as a legacy supplier of reliable precursors for the HBLED market.  

"As mass manufacturing continues its rise, we are experiencing significant increases in customer and partnership activities in the Asia-Pacific region, which aligns nicely with our core commitment to driving global expansion in the production of precursors for the rapidly expanding HBLED market," said Philip Rose, SAFC Hitech President. "The expansion of our Kaohsiung presence is a logical next step that will help us to support these markets. By increasing our investment in local technical service capabilities and by leveraging our proprietary technologies and capabilities, we are able to increase our transfilling, production and technical services in these key markets."

The existing SAFC Hitech Kaohsiung capabilities handle and characterize highly-specialized laboratory-scale chemicals and features a dedicated customer support center.  This existing site is ISO 9001 certified for quality and ISO 14001 certified for safety and environmental protocols. The facility was originally built to service the semiconductor industry demands for ultra-high quality precursors using proprietary technologies. The site also provides integrated inert atmosphere transfilling stations, state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation for the detection of ultra-low metallic and oxygen containing contaminants and dedicated cylinder preparation and packaging areas. An extensive departmental infrastructure (Health & Safety, quality, shipping, sales) provides for adherence to the highest standards of performance.

For additional information on SAFC Hitech's world-class portfolio of products and services, visit www.safchitech.com.

Cautionary statement: The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "plans to build," "expected to be completed," "expected to expand," "expected to increase" or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding potential future revenues from products derived therefrom. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that the Kaohsiung, Taiwan facility expansion will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding the Kaohsiung, Taiwan facility expansion could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Company's assets and liabilities as recorded in its consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Sigma-Aldrich's current Form 10-K on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Sigma-Aldrich is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About SAFC Hitech: SAFC Hitech provides a unique chemistry service translating application understanding into performance materials worldwide. Through collaborative partnerships and an integrated approach from research and development, process development and scale up to commercial manufacturing, SAFC Hitech invests in innovation and manufacturing enabling current and future technology needs. Further information can be found at http://www.safchitech.com.

About SAFC®: SAFC is the custom manufacturing and services business unit of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. We are recognized as a top 10 global fine molecule supplier and trusted manufacturer of specialty chemicals and biologics for the life science and high technology industries. Utilizing global "Centers of Excellence" and dedicated manufacturing facilities, SAFC can resolve development and manufacturing challenges and accelerate the production of custom materials. Our rich portfolio includes high-purity inorganic materials for high technology applications, cell culture products, services for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and biochemical production, and complex, multi-step organic synthesis of APIs and key intermediates. For more information about SAFC, visit www.safcglobal.com.

About Sigma-Aldrich®: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other high technology manufacturing. The company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 40 countries and has 7,700 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at www.sigma-aldrich.com.

SAFC, SAFC Hitech and Sigma-Aldrich are registered trademarks of Sigma-Aldrich Biotechnology L.P. and Sigma-Aldrich Co.

SOURCE Sigma-Aldrich