August 10, 2012 – PRNewswire — Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) will expand its facility in Yeosu, Korea, which will produce commercial quantities of finished catalysts and components used in the polymer industry. The additional manufacturing capacity will be dedicated to producing Albemarle’s PureGrowth products for metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), including high purity trimethyl gallium (TMG), triethyl gallium (TEG) and trimethyl aluminum (TMA). These products are used in the epitaxy of light-emitting diode (LED), compound semiconductor, and optoelectronic device wafers.
Albermarle’s existing capacity for these products and trimethyl indium (TMI) is at its Baton Rouge, LA, USA facility. They have been available commercially since January 2011. "Over 80% of the global demand for LED products is in Asia," said Jenny S. Hebert, global product manager for electronic materials, adding that the Korea facility will produce the PureGrowth products to meet demand in the high-growth region and reduce transportation.
The state-of-the-art Korea facilities will maintain the high purity standards required of electronic-grade metal organics. Property for the expansion has been acquired and infrastructure plans approved. The project is slated for completion in 2013.
Albemarle’s Performance Catalyst Solutions division, a segment of its Catalyst global business unit, delivers high performance catalyst solutions through a finished catalyst product portfolio. The division comprises Polymer Catalysts, Chemical Catalyst, and Electronic Materials. Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com.