Nilfisk-Advance and Dycem form alliance
Thomas Mulligan, Dycem's president of American operations, and Phil Carpenter, Nilfisk's national sales manager, have announced a strategic alliance between their two companies. The initial result of the alliance has been the development of a “Single Step” cleaning process, which not only eliminates contamination prior to the critical area, but also improves the overall cleanliness of the entire cleanroom environment.–LJB

Eagle-Picher to open GMP production facility
The Environmental Science and Technology Department of Eagle-Picher Technologies LLC is nearing completion of a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) production facility to provide specialized products to the pharmaceutical, biotech and semiconductor industries. “By expanding our existing capacity, we can better meet the increasing needs of these industries,” explains Mitch Eddy, department manager of the Miami, OK, facility. “This new facility reflects our commitment to our existing customers and allows us to greatly expand our products and services.”–LJB

Emerging technology careers
The City College-George Brown (Toronto) announced an educational initiative to train youth for the careers of tomorrow: Phase II of the College's Centre for Advanced Microelectronics. Driven by the private sector's shortage of highly skilled technology professionals, Phase II of the project builds on the college's commitment to providing students with education and hands-on experience they need to enjoy careers in the world of emerging technology. Programs will be available to students in May 2002.–LJB

ASP opens copper reclaim facility
American Silicon Products Inc. (ASP), a subsidiary of SEMX Corp. (Armonk, NY), is reclaiming copper wafers in the new facility it has established for this purpose. Having passed several qualifications and receiving numerous orders, the company is in production mode. The separate facility was necessary for stripping the copper to avoid contamination of the silicon reclaim operations. After stripping, but prior to further processing, the wafers are tested for trace metals using an Agilent 7500S by VPDICPMS technique as a further safeguard against contamination.–LJB

Reconditioning facility nears completion
Pentagon Technologies Inc.'s (Fremont, CA) fourth semiconductor parts cleaning and reconditioning facility is nearing completion in Portland, OR. The 32,000-square-foot site will serve the greater Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain region. The site is set to be fully operational during the early fourth quarter of 2001, with customer qualifications beginning in September. The facility is tailored to meet the demands of advanced wafer fabrication equipment requirements, focusing upon cleaning, reconditioning and kitting the parts and assemblies used for 200-300 mm wafers, sub-180 nm fabrication techniques and copper interconnect processing.–LJB

PPI adds HVAC division
PPI Modular Structures (Naples, FL) has added a division for heating, ventilation and air conditioning installations. Called PPI Mechanical, the division will provide the complete service, which includes sheet metal and ductwork, refrigeration and air conditioning systems.–LJB

Cooper Lighting relocates division
Cooper Lighting has relocated its division headquarters to Peachtree City, GA. The move will enable the uniting of the company's sales, customer service and distribution with the marketing, accounting, engineering, information technology and administrative part of the business into one central location. An addition of 65,000 square feet will be home to a training and educational facility known as the Source.–LJB

Global Care Initiative launched
In an effort to increase awareness and information regarding environmental, health and safety standards within the semiconductor industry, SEMI has launched the Global Care Initiative (GCI). The GCI was formed to augment the efforts of SEMI's Environmental Health and Safety Division (EHS), which began in 1998, following a series of executive summits. Chaired by Silicon Valley Group CEO Papken Der Torossian, the EHS executive committee sponsored the summits, where it was decided the industry needed a program that had high EHS principles and required executive commitment to increase the EHS knowledge of the industry by sharing ideas and disseminating information. “The idea is to create synergy and focus people's efforts,” says Aimee Bordeaux, director of SEMI's Environmental Health & Safety division. “Small- to medium-sized companies might not have a dedicated EHS staff. So if you put a program out there, it helps a company focus on EHS even if they don't have strong resources.”–LJB

Ghiselli receives SEMI award
Jack Ghiselli, president of GW Associates (recently acquired by Asyst Technologies Inc.), has received the Karel Urbanek Memorial Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the SEMI International Standards program. Ghiselli was recognized for his leadership in developing operations standards for manufacturing facilities in the semiconductor industry, which have allowed the industry to reduce equipment costs and greatly increase production efficiency. The award is the highest honor bestowed by SEMI for outstanding contributions to the advancement of its International Standards program.–LJB

Asyst receives service award
Atmel Corporation has recognized Asyst Technologies Inc. (Fremont, CA) for its outstanding service in the areas of automated material handling systems and robotic SMIF technology implementation at Atmel's facilities. Thomas E. Legere, a director of operations at Atmel, comments, “Asyst provided the support necessary to implement timely solutions to the SMIF-LoadPort requirements.”–LJB