Feb. 26, 2008 – The war between two rival international lithography source providers has reached US shores. Gigaphoton says it is expanding its presence in the US with a new subsidiary in Beaverton, OR, slated to open in April. The expansion, which will replace an existing customer support base in nearby Newburg, OR (and complement other domestic sites in Fishkill, NY, and Austin, TX), follows recent wins by “several major US devicemakers, and the impending growth opportunities the US market,” which represents one-fifth of the worldwide market, the company said in a statement.

Those three sites imply where Gigaphoton has made its inroads with new US customers. A recent analyst report, noting Gigaphoton’s rise against rival Cymer, pointed in particular to wins at Samsung (Austin), Intel, and some smaller business at IBM.

“We’re fully committed to establishing our presence in the microlithography arena here, not only to enhance our support capabilities for our current customer base, but also to reach the new opportunities the market continues to hold,” said Hitoshi Tomaru, newly appointed president/CEO of Gigaphoton USA. He most recently served as VP/GM for US and Europe operations. Prior to joining Gigaphoton he held various high-level positions at Komatsu.