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Ube Industries,Ltd. (President: Kazumasa Tsunemi) and Matsushita Electric
Works Ltd. (President: Koichi Hatanaka) have reached a
contract agreement under which Ube will license to Matsushita
Electric Works production technology* for the manufacture
of two-layered flexible copper-clad laminates (CCL). Capital
investment, manufacture and sales will be conducted by
both companies. Together they will incrementally expand
their capacity to supply two-layered flexible CCL, aiming
to reach 3.3 million m2 by the second half of 2005.
* = technology for the continuous attachment of polyimide
film to copper sheets, creating rolls of two-layer CCL;
this is an especially efficient method for the manufacture
of double-sided boards.
• Market background
The market for two-layered flexible CCL has been in a
state of tight supply, thanks to the increasing sophistication
of mobile phones, digital cameras and other products.
Currently, the market is estimated at about 5 million
m2 annually, and it is expected to grow at a pace of 20%
per year. With advances in fine-pitch and high-density
packages for circuit boards, demand for double-sided two-layer
flexible CCL is rising rapidly.
• Aim of technology license
Using integrated manufacturing and building from monomers,
Ube Industries can produce polyimide film of outstanding
dimensional uniformity, ideally suited for mass production
of roll two-layer flexible CCL, and it has experience
in supplying this market. At the same time, Matsushita
Electric Works is a top manufacturer of rigid printed-circuit
materials, with manufacturing and sales locations in various
countries throughout the world, and tremendous technical,
marketing and sales strengths. This alliance can be expected
to generate synergies between the two companies in the
market for flexible printed circuits.
Ube Industries regards high-performance materials, including
polyimide, as a core business. The company is concentrating
management resources in this area, and taking proactive
steps to expand this business as a whole; two-layer flexible
CCL (product name: Upicel N) is a key part of that business
expansion. Wholly owned subsidiary Ube Nitto Kasei (President:
Shin¥'ichiro Yamamoto) has already completed two rounds
of investment in production facilities at its Gifu plant,
and a third round is now under way, due for completion
in mid-2005. In our judgment, our own increased production
and the alliance with Matsushita Electric Works were necessary
steps, to enhance the market presence of Upicel products
in the rapidly expanding market, and to accelerate the
growth of the Upicel family (two-sided CCL based on Ube
Industries polyimide film), and so we reached the decision
to license the technology externally. We expect that the
granting of this technology license will also contribute
to increased sales of polyimide film for use in two-layer
flexible CCL.
For inquiries please contact:
Ube Industries, Ltd.
Investor Relations & Public Relations Dept.
Corporate Planning & Administration Office
Seavance North Building, 1-2-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8449
Phone : +81(3)5419-6110
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