April 22, 2002 – Tokyo, Japan – Ebara Corp. is set to open an R&D center for semiconductor production machines in San Jose, CA, in May, company sources said.

The firm wants to better serve the needs of major US chip manufacturers, such as Intel Corp. and Micron Technology Inc., now that leading Japanese producers, including Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. are reducing their capital investments, reported the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

The new lab will have a staff of 30, including 20 local workers, and will cooperate with Ebara’s plant in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, which has 220 R&D employees, thereby enabling round-the-clock research operations.

Ebara’s plant on the West Coast will also become part of the firm’s collaborative effort to develop and launch new products faster.