October 5, 2007 – Surface Technology Systems Plc (STS), a UK-based supplier of deep silicon etch and deposition systems, says it will close its local office in Ulm, Germany, and relocate customer service operations through its Newport, UK headquarters.

“It has become clear that to improve the overall business efficiency we had to centralize our spare parts and service functions” into three locations: the UK, US, and Taiwan, explained John Saunders, STS’ CEO, in a statement. The decision to centralize European operations will ensure more rapid response to customers, and the move will benefit partners as well, he said. “By concentrating our efforts on 3 locations we hope to put STS in a more competitive position worldwide.”

STS has seen significant reorganization in just the past few weeks. In late August, the firm’s parent company, Sumitomo Precision Products Co. (SPP), bought back the 37% of shares in the company it does not own in order to take the firm private and achieve efficiencies such as enhanced critical mass, and financial resources (STS has been dependent on SPP’s financial support for a number of years, and that reliance has increased significantly this year.)