Dublin, Ohio–Nov. 9, 2000–The Electronics Division of Ashland Specialty Chemical Co., a wholly owned division of Ashland, Inc., has completed capacity expansion for photoresist stripper and etch residue remover manufacturing at the company’s subsidiary Ashland-ACT Korea Ltd. (AAKL), in Pyongtaek, Korea. The expansion boosts capacity at the facility by 50%, according to the company, with an additional 30% increase slated for mid-2001.

“Ashland is committed to supporting the growth and long-term needs of the Asian semiconductor market,” says Marcello Boldrini, Electric Chemicals Division business director for Asia. “We are excited about our success in the region and will continue to make additional investments. In addition to the AAKL capacity expansion, we just marked the grand opening of our wet process chemicals joint venture in Taiwan, Ashland Union Electronic Chemical Corp., and we soon will be opening an applications lab in Taiwan to support Ashland-ACT customers in the region.”

The added capacity now available enables AAKL to manufacture ACT 690C photoresist and etch residue remover, a non-hydroxylamine product formulated to remove organic and highly oxidized etch residues.