Japan Pionics Co., Ltd. to Construct Building for Producing Gas Purifier for Semiconductor Manufacturing Process− Supporting semiconductor manufacturers' higher production and larger production facilities

Air Water Inc. is pleased to announce that Japan Pionics Co., Ltd. (Satoshi Arakawa, president and representative director, head office: Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa; hereinafter "Japan Pionics"), an Air Water Group company that manufactures and sells gas purifiers and waste gas cleaners, has decided to construct a new building for producing gas purifiers on the premises of its Hiratsuka Plant in response to increasing production capacity and upsized manufacturing facilities of semiconductor manufacturers. The construction of the new building will start in April 2022 and will reach completion in November 2022.

1. Overview

 Air Water Inc. believes that the electronics-related domain, the market for which is expanding rapidly, will continue to drive the growth of its industrial gas business in the future. To supply nitrogen gas requisite to the semiconductor manufacturing process through pipelines in response to the ongoing trend in Japan among large semiconductor manufacturers towards higher production, the Air Water Group is advancing construction of an unprecedentedly large on-site plant and expanding the business domains of gas purifiers, electric heaters for semiconductor manufacturing systems and special chemical materials in combination with their peripheral domains such as their supply equipment with the aim of earning a position comparable with the global gas giants in the field of electronics.

 

Japan Pionics has since its foundation in 1962 been manufacturing and selling gas purifiers and waste gas cleaners, indispensable to semiconductor manufacturing processes, with the use of advanced catalyst and adsorption technologies. It has been delivering these products in large quantities to semiconductor manufacturers in Japan, Taiwan, China, the United States and elsewhere around the world. Among others, the VPE Series normal-temperature adsorption gas purifiers, designed to increase purity of different gases, earn high marks for incorporating the world's highest level of gas purification technology as well as environmental and safety features.

 

Today, new construction and extension of semiconductor factories are planned successively around the world. In tandem, manufacturing systems are becoming larger and larger. Accordingly, Japan Pionics sees rapidly building demand for larger gas purifiers and therefore constructs a new building and a more efficient system for producing gas purifiers to meet the demand. After inauguration of the new building, the gas purifier production capacity is expected to be 1.6 times higher than the current level.

 

In August 2021, Air Water Inc. announced that Nihon Dennetsu Co., Ltd. (head office: Azumino-shi, Nagano), another Air Water Group company, would construct a new building specializing in manufacturing of heat control equipment for major semiconductor manufacturers in Japan on the premises of its Azumino head office and plant. The move announced in this release is a subsequent case of capital investment in the equipment business for semiconductor manufacturing.

2. Overview of the new building to be constructed

(1) Location: 3-3-32 Tamura, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa
(2) Areas: Total floor area of 820 m2
(3) Structure: A single-story steel construction
(4) Construction schedule: Construction to start in April 2022 and to finish at the end of November 2022 (plan)
(5) Investment amount: Approx. 400 million yen (including manufacturing equipment)

3. Overview of Japan Pionics Co., Ltd.

(1) Established: July 1962
(2) Capital: 300 million yen
(3) Representative: Satoshi Arakawa, president and representative director
(4) Sales: Approx. 5.0 billion yen (estimated for fiscal 2021)
(5) Number of employees: 109 (as of the end of March 2021)
(6) Shareholder: Air Water Inc. (100%)

 The semiconductor manufacturing process uses material gas and carrier gas suited to the purpose. Gas purifiers are used to remove impurities contained in these gases and to improve their purity level.

 Japan Pionics provides an extensive lineup of gas purifiers with various purification methods matched with different types of gases to be purified and impurities to be removed, and supporting a broad range of flow rates. They include a palladium alloy membrane permeation hydrogen gas purifier incorporating technologies patented at the time of its foundation, normal-temperature adsorption gas purifiers, deep freeze adsorption gas purifiers and getter-type gas purifiers.

 It also manufactures and sells different kinds of waste gas cleaners that detoxify waste gas emitted from the semiconductor manufacturing process as well as toxic gas removing agents and catalysts used in these waste gas cleaners.

[Contact for inquiries]
Corporate Communications, Air Water Inc.  E-mail：info-h@awi.co.jp