Semiconductor CMP Pad Technology Company NexPlanar to Open New Manufacturing Site in Oregon

New Manufacturing Jobs to Be Added; Benefits of Oregon Manufacturing Expansion Include Talent Pool and Proximity to Customers


HILLSBORO, OR--(Marketwire - December 17, 2010) - Semiconductor CMP pad technology company NexPlanar will open a new manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, by the end of the year for increased production of their technology. The company is moving into an 18,000 square foot facility from a smaller location in the same town. NexPlanar also manufactures pads in Minneapolis, MN.

Approximately ten new jobs will initially be added to the NexPlanar staff as the new facility ramps up. The company did not consider moving from the Portland region. "We originally selected the Hillsboro area because of its proximity to our customer base and the tremendous talent pool of qualified personnel in high technology manufacturing," commented Jim LaCasse, NexPlanar CEO.

"Because of the unique design of our product," continued LaCasse, "customers in the US and Asia have been qualifying NexPlanar's pads and it became necessary to increase capacity. We also wanted to have the ability to incrementally increase capacity in the future. This new Hillsboro site provides for a significant capacity increase and the flexibility needed for the future."

CMP Pad Technology
Via NexPlanar's "void engineering" concept, the CMP pads (which planarize a semiconductor wafer) have a "designed-in" porosity and surface roughness distinct from other products offered today. While maintaining desirable removal rates, these features provide dramatic improvement for pattern density insensitivity and lower defects. NexPlanar's soft pads technology and the new line of Element™ semi-hard and hard pads offer distinct advantages related to uniformity and defect reduction.

About NexPlanar Corporation
NexPlanar builds the next generation of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) pads for the semiconductor device industry. NexPlanar uses proprietary "nano-domain" technology that improves planarity and across-wafer uniformity and can be utilized to customize the CMP pads for specific applications. NexPlanar's "nano-lubricants" and patented molded groove technologies allow for low stress CMP (required for the most advanced CMP applications), result in an order of magnitude fewer defects, low slurry consumption processing and lower overall cost-of-ownership. NexPlanar is headquartered in Hillsboro, OR and has an office in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and distributors throughout the world. See www.nexplanar.com.

Contact Information:

Company Contact:
Leslie Charns