| CoorsTek, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a fabricator agreement with a U.S.-based market leader in fused quartz materials. As an authorized quartz fabricator, CoorsTek will sell and distribute high-purity fused quartz, primarily to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers. CoorsTek will fabricate, assemble, sell and distribute various varieties of quartz, including opaque, low alkali, low hydroxyl, and other quartz materials for use in semiconductor processing chamber components. These materials are ideal for demanding environment applications due to their exceptional performance in high temperature operations, ultra-high purity applications, and specific wavelength transmission. John Coors, CoorsTek President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, “This agreement enhances CoorsTek’s commitment to offering its customers a full outsourcing solution by enabling us to integrate the fabrication and assembly of high-purity quartz products into our already broad materials base of ceramics, metals and plastics. Through this investment, we are leveraging one of our core competencies, precision machining, and bridging a gap in our service offerings to take advantage of a sizable and growing market for quartz.” Mr. Coors continued, “As supplier consolidation in the semiconductor capital equipment industry continues, we are pleased to once again respond to our OEM customers’ requests for a complete solution to their manufacturing and assembly outsourcing needs by providing a full range of materials options. Our key customers supported our decision to add quartz products to our material and product offering. In addition, we believe many of our customers will continue to use significant quantities of quartz in their products due to its low contamination in the high purity environment necessary for semiconductor processing.” Initially, CoorsTek plans to integrate the quartz operations into its Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility, where the quartz will be precision machined into various semiconductor processing chamber components. Developing this product line favourably positions CoorsTek to gain market share and capitalize on the OEMs’ continued use of quartz as a process-critical material. |