July 29, 2011 – Marketwire — Sapphire Materials Company (SMC), a subsidiary of Silicon Chemical Corporation (SCC), completed Phase I of its sapphire manufacturing business. The manufacturing green-light follows less than a year of research and design, retrofitting, and renovation at the former Saint Gobain/Union Carbide sapphire crystal growing facility in Washougal, WA.
Manufacturing equipment was sourced from suppliers and some methodologies were developed in-house by SMC.
All process utility and infrastructure requirements are in place for installation of crystal growing equipment to meet SMC plans to ramp capacity to over 100,000 KG by the 4th quarter of 2012. Phase II should be complete in September 2011. Initial shipments of sapphire product will begin this November.
The sapphire produced in Washougal will primarily serve LED manufacturing markets. The aim is lowest-cost production with high reliability and consistent product quality.
Sapphire Materials Company (SMC) is a subsidiary of Silicon Chemical Corporation (SCC), which provides silicon process technology, equipment, and professional services for the electronic and solar industries. Visit SMC at www.sapphirematerials.com
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