Electronic process chemicals, solvents and advanced materials are essential to the production of chips and are used to clean, etch and polish semiconductors, integrated circuits and printed circuit boards.
The global market for such products is valued at $48 billion with 6% annual growth, according to research from Markets and Markets, among others. Major players include Merck, Honeywell, BASF, Hitachi Chemical, Sidley Chemical and more.
Well aware of such growth, Fujifilm Electronics Materials USA recently completed an $88 million expansion of its Mesa, Arizona, facility. The 80,000 square foot expansion includes five new buildings, which will require the hiring of 120 more workers atop the 400 workers now at the Mesa site. Hires will be in chemistry, engineering, manufacturing, warehousing and maintenance.
New manufacturing operations for Chemical Mechanical Polishing slurries and high-purity solvents came online early in 2022. These are the chemicals used in the company’s Formulated Products business used by its customers to make, clean and polish semiconductor chips.
Also, R&D lab operations have begun for state-of-the-art process tools and instruments to develop next- generation materials for chips used in electronics products. Bulk chemical storage and a 40,000 square foot warehouse space were added to support the expanded manufacturing of CMP and FP products. A new cafeteria and free fitness center are part of the expansion.
“Our business is growing rapidly and with this expansion we are hiring talented and skilled employees that will help us support the evolving needs of the semiconductor and electronic materials market,” CEO Brian O’Donnelly said.
Fujifilm Electronics Materials USA has three other U.S. facilities in Castroville, California, Carrollton, Texas, and North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The Mesa site’s range of products includes CMP, Chemical Vapor Deposition precursors, developers, solvents, acids and etchants and cleaners. Mesa’s products are shipped to customers around the globe.
Fujifilm Electronics Materials operations globally includes 11 sites with $1 billion in revenues. It is part of a global Fujifilm family with revenues of $21 billion and 73,000 workers.
“The semiconductor materials business is expanding globally to meet tremendous growth output,” O’Donnelly said in an interview with Fierce Electronics. Fujifilm has announced investments of $630 million over the next two years, a 40% increase from the previous three years. “The electronics materials business is a key focus of growth.”
The expansion in Mesa was done with green initiatives in mind, he said. The new buildings are designed to prevent any increase in the site’s use of water, and air chillers were part of the design to allow for air cooling instead of water cooling in production processes. Also, the site is in the process of adding solar panels to generate up to 15% of electricity needs.
“The industry in general is trying to lower its carbon footprint and provide alternative materials and we are part of that,” he added. “We are working with our customers and competitors and looking at opportunities for how certain chemicals could be replaced. We’re always looking to use chemicals that are more environmentally friendly. The industry does use a lot of different chemicals and replacements are not easy and have to be designed in. We are part of that and take it very seriously…to reach net zero CO2.”
O’Donnelly said he recognizes the delicate balance between needing to produce products for chips that power electronics of all sizes alongside environmental objectives. “I have an optimistic view that semiconductor manufacturers are clever people and understand green initiatives and they understand that we have to manufacture and meet both objectives,” he said. “We are part of the key supply chain.”
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