May 26, 2017
Opening Ceremony Held on May 17
HORIBA STEC, Co., Ltd. (hereafter HORIBA STEC) has completed construction of a new facility of its subsidiary HORIBA STEC KOREA, Ltd. (hereafter HORIBA STEC KOREA) in Yongin City, located about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, South Korea. The facility was designed mainly for the production and sale of gas/liquid flow control devices (hereafter “mass flow controller”) used in the production of semiconductors and other components. Production began at the facility following HORIBA STEC KOREA’s move from its former location in April 2017.
As the new base of HORIBA STEC KOREA, the engineering, production, sales, and service departments have all moved to this new building. Capital investment in semiconductor companies has increased in South Korea and other countries in recent years. In order to respond to future increased demand, the facility features enhanced production capacities, plans for increased engineering staff, and education facilities. These initiatives will allow for accelerated expansion of business in the future.
The facility will also serve as an important base for sales and service of water quality measurement equipment for the environmental field in addition to equipment for the semiconductor field, and HORIBA STEC hopes that the location will become the epicenter of innovation for all five of HORIBA’s business segments.
HORIBA STEC Business
Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, HORIBA STEC includes five domestic sales offices with the headquarters and the Aso Factory in Kumamoto prefecture in Japan focusing mainly on the production of mass flow controllers, liquid source vaporization systems, and vacuum and gas monitors. Production and sales bases can be found in the United States and in China, and sales bases can also be found in Taiwan, Singapore, and four locations in Europe.
The continued increase in demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment due to increased capital investment by semiconductor manufacturers was an influential factor behind the relocation. Along with this demand comes an increased demand for mass flow controllers—key components of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. This newly completed facility, which includes expanded clean rooms and aligned equipment, will allow HORIBA STEC to more promptly respond to customer needs arising due to such increased demand.
Main Functions of the new facility
- Clean room
Covering some 349 square meters, HORIBA STEC KOREA’s clean room can handle various customer requests from application development to production. Product repair facilities are also available.
- Seminar room
The seminar room can accommodate approx. 60 people.The room is mainly used for product explanations to customers, with seminars being held some 30 times a year.
HORIBA STEC KOREA Overview
| Building name | HORIBA STEC KOREA |
| Address | 98, Digital valley-ro, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 16878 Korea |
| Construction period | February 2016 to March 31, 2017 |
| Open | April 1, 2017 |
| Building structure | Four-story reinforced concrete structure |
| Total floor area | Approx. 5,263 square meters |
| Number of employees | 54 |
Opening Ceremony
Held on May 17, the opening ceremony for the new facility of HORIBA STEC KOREA included some 100 attendees, including Atsushi Horiba, Chairman, President & CEO of HORIBA, Ltd.
Message from Atsushi Horiba, Chairman, President & CEO of HORIBA, Ltd. (Summary)
HORIBA established its representative office in Seoul in 1977, after which it established HORIBA KOREA for full advancement into business within South Korea. Since establishing a service center in Seoul in 1991, which would serve as a base for sales and maintenance, HORIBA STEC has contributed to significant strides in the semiconductor segment by building close relationships with customers.
The new HORIBA STEC KOREA facility was designed to offer joint development between Korean customers driving the evolution of the semiconductor manufacturing process and HORIBA engineers in order to better respond to technological innovations leading to further advancement.
HORIBA’s focus includes five segments: Semiconductor Instruments & Systems, Automotive Test Systems, Process & Environmental Instruments & Systems, Medical-Diagnostic Instruments & Systems, and Scientific Instruments & Systems. In addition to furthering growth of these five business segments, we expect our engineers at HORIBA STEC KOREA to act as the driving force behind HORIBA’s global growth beyond the boundaries of these segments through unique technology and product development.