Entegris looks ahead with plans to expand business offering

07/01/2001

Meg Villeneuve

CHASKA, MN—Entegris Inc. recently announced that it has joined the Center for Microcontamination Control (CMC) at the University of Arizona. The company says it hopes to broaden its research and development as well as its business offerings.

CMC is part of the National Science Foundation university/industry consortia. Entegris CTO John Goodman calls the pairing a natural fit and says that the membership will allow Entegris to expand its R&D process by tapping into academic research.

"We are doing a lot to expand research on [many] fronts, and we plan to take our capabilities in fluid delivery into new industries such as biotechnology and food processing," says Goodman.

In conjunction with its membership to the CMC, Entegris formed an R&D subsidiary named Oregon Labs. "Oregon Labs looks at research that could allow us to develop new markets. [We] are currently doing advanced research into industries beyond microelectronics," Goodman adds.

The company says it's trying to better understand the material selection and system design in those two areas, as well as introduce new materials that have been used in semiconductor manufacturing but not in pharmaceutical or food processing facilities.

Even though external R&D projects are expanding, the company says internal R&D efforts remain a focus. "[In the future] you'll see companies using a more creative mix to expand R&D efforts," Goodman says. "[We] think a lot of companies will continue with internal R&D, but will also use cooperative centers to get a multiplier effect with their R&D efforts."