SCHMID and AVACO Collaborate on Vacuum Processing Systems

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Effective October 1st, SCHMID Group and AVACO Co., Ltd. will join forces in a newly established joint venture to address the increasing need for high volume vacuum processing in electronics manufacturing. The joint venture combines SCHMID’s market and process know-how with AVACO’s superior tool platforms.

SCHMID, a key technology supplier to the electronics market, has developed advanced vacuum processes for high-end PCB and IC substrate manufacturing. Vacuum-based cleaning and deposition processes support a range of applications which cannot be produced with conventional wet processing. They are a key enabler for advanced materials processing. AVACO is a leading supplier of sputter deposition systems for high-tech industries such as flat panel displays. The joint venture will take advantage of SCHMID’s process know-how and access to the electronics market combined with AVACO’s competences in vacuum system design and their local production capability. The joint venture will focus on expanding the market share of vacuum processing in the PCB, IC substrate and embedded substrate market using cutting edge technology from SCHMID and AVACO.

“Partnering with a world leader in vacuum coating systems will allow us to introduce disruptive innovations to our customers in the advanced electronics manufacturing market. In the upcoming months we will present high capacity plasma treatment and copper sputtering systems. These tools will address the challenges that our customers are facing in the processing of advanced base material. The newly developed processes have an improved Cost of Ownership (CoO) and reach a very short Return on Investment (RoI) for the user. AVACO is an outstanding partner with wide-ranging engineering and manufacturing know-how in the field of vacuum technology. Their expertise will help to create a significant footprint for the joint venture in the electronics market”, says Christian Schmid, President and CEO of SCHMID Group.

“We have chosen SCHMID as our partner because of their extensive experience in the field of vacuum processes, which will be an important contribution to the success of this joint venture. During the past months there was an intense cooperation between the teams in Germany and Korea to define and design new vacuum systems that will expand our product portfolio and offer revolutionary solutions to our customer base”, says Jimyung Wee, CEO of AVACO Co., Ltd.

About SCHMID Group

Founded in 1864, SCHMID Group is a technology leader in the Electronics, Photovoltaics and Energy Storage markets, offering customers innovative systems and automation solutions that address their production requirements. SCHMID Group, with its headquarters in Freudenstadt (Germany), has 1,000 employees globally. The group owns Technology Centers and manufacturing sites in Germany, China, Turkey and the USA, and supports customers with more than 17 worldwide sales and service locations

About AVACO Group

AVACO Group, founded in 2000, is headquartered in Daegu, South Korea with manufacturing facilities in Paju and Gumi, South Korea. The group, which has 320 employees, specializes in advanced R&D, engineering and manufacturing of vacuum system technologies. AVACO are experts in thinfilm processing for flat-panel displays and solar modules.