Ashland Division Invests In Asian Semiconductor Market

The Electronic Chemicals Division of Ashland Specialty Chemical Co., a wholly owned division of Ashland Inc., Dublin, Ohio, has completed a major capacity expansion for photoresist-stripper and etch-residue remover manufacturing at its wholly owned subsidiary, Ashland-ACT Korea Ltd. (AAKL), in Pyongtaek, Korea. The expansion increases production capacity at the facility by 50%, with an additional 30% increase slated for summer 2001. This enables the company to serve the growing needs of customers in Korea as well as throughout Asia, including Taiwan, Singapore, China, and Malaysia. The added capacity will allow the manufacture of products used in commercial semiconductor production. "Ashland is committed to supporting the growth and long-term needs of the Asian semiconductor market," says Marcello Boldrini, Electronic Chemicals Division business director for Asia. "We will continue to make additional investments. In addition to the AAKL capacity expansion, we just marked the grand opening of our wet process chemicals joint venture in Taiwan, Ashland Union Electronic Chemical Corp., and we soon will be opening an applications lab in Taiwan to support Ashland-ACT customers in the region." Ashland Specialty Chemical Co. supplies specialty chemicals serving industries including adhesives, automotive, composites, foundry, merchant marine, paint, paper, plastics, and semiconductor.