August 28, 2007 – Edwards (nee BOC Edwards, renamed this summer to reflect new private-equity ownership) has sold “the majority” of its “Kachina” semiconductor equipment parts cleaning/refurbishment business to Applied Materials for an undisclosed sum, and its stake in another part of the business in Taiwan, in order to focus on “profitable growth” in its core vacuum and abatement areas.

Under terms of the deals, Applied will purchase operations at facilities in Austin, TX; Phoenix, AZ; and Hillsboro, OR, as well as on-site operations at customer sites in Israel, Ireland, and Virginia. The assets will be folded into Applied’s global services arm, which already owns/operates parts cleaning service facilities in North America, Europe, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore, and China. BOC Edwards will retain the division’s operations in France and the UK.

“Kachina has more than 15 years of experience and knowledge in parts cleaning and coating and has an excellent reputation with its customers for delivering quality products,” said Mark Stark, GM of Applied’s fab operation services division, in a statement. “Building on our extensive global infrastructure, this strategic investment will add to Applied’s fab-wide service offerings and increase our capacity to deliver world-class chamber performance management to customers internationally.”

In a separate transaction, Edwards said it has sold its shareholding interest in BOC Edwards HTC Ltd., a parts cleaning services provider in Taiwan, to that business’s other shareholder, Highlight Tech Corp.

“The sale of the Kachina parts cleaning business to Applied Materials will enable Edwards to focus resources on providing world leading products and services either side of the process tool and on the profitable growth of its core vacuum and abatement business,” stated Nigel Hunton, CEO of Edwards.