Jan. 28, 2002 – Fremont, CA – The silicon operations of Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. officially merged under the new name Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Corp. (SUMCO) on Feb. 1, 2002.

Combined sales of the new company, which is owned equally by both partners, represents nearly 25% of the $5.2 billion silicon wafer market.

Headquartered in Tokyo, SUMCO’s new president is Reijiro Mori, former director of Sumitomo. Minoru Mizukoshi, former chairman of Mitsubishi Materials Silicon, is executive VP of SUMCO and chairman of SUMCO USA Corp., headquartered in Fremont, CA. Kaz Nagano is president of SUMCO USA Corp.

SUMCO has 15 manufacturing facilities globally, including six in the US, and sales and engineering offices distributed to support customers doing business around the globe.

The merger evolved from a relationship that began in March 1999, when Sumitomo and Mitsubishi formed a joint venture for development and manufacture of 300mm wafers for next-generation semiconductor devices. They subsequently have built a new manufacturing facility together and are ramping up for full production of 300mm wafers this year.

The joint venture prompted the two companies to decide, in April 2001, to integrate their overall silicon operations. Both parent companies will continue to separately operate other parts of their respective businesses, such as nonferrous and fabricated metals, cement, steel pipes, and other products.

“This merger is a classic case of the sum being greater than the parts,” said Chet Brauch, CEO of the former Mitsubishi Silicon America, the U.S.-based arm of Mitsubishi’s silicon operations.