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Elementary, Mr. Watson: Flex Designs—The Future and BeyondOak-Mitsui Expands Partnership with Insulectro
May 17, 2016 | Oak-MitsuiEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Oak-Mitsui, the market leader in and only domestic manufacturer of copper foil for the printed circuit board market, and Insulectro, the largest supplier of advanced materials for use in the PCB and printed electronics, are proud to announce an expanded strategic partnership adding Oak Mitsui’s proprietary ABC (aluminum bonded copper) to Insulectro’s premier product portfolio including CAC (copper aluminum copper).
By leveraging their bicoastal manufacturing locations, ABC will continue to manufacture its bonded product in Hoosick Falls, NY and Insulectro will continue to manufacture CAC at its facility in Lake Forest, CA. The complete line of Oak-Mitsui copper foils, on CAC and ABC, will be available in Insulectro’s inventory by June 17, 2016.
Insulectro President Patrick Redfern said, “I’m sure our customers will appreciate the net effect of this deal – we’re providing the best copper foil, made in the USA, in any format they prefer, available at all of our 10 stocking locations across the country. It just keeps getting better!”
Less than a year after announcing a breakthrough agreement to sell certain copper foils in Oak Mitsui’s product line, this strategic decision will allow the two companies to strengthen their ability to meet customer expectations for product quality and service. The complete Oak Mitsui line is designed to meet the demands of the PCB industry’s’ outer-layer requirements. This strategic move will provide long-term sustainable domestic foil to PCB fabrication customers.
Ken Parent, VP of Sales and Product Management for Insulectro added, “We are appreciative of the trust placed in us by Oak-Mitsui. The original deal significantly enhances our product offering with customers needing adhesion, thin foil or thermally reliable copper. The ABC product rounds out our product set.” John Fatcheric, Oak-Mitsui COO said, “Our partnership with Insulectro has strengthened our ability to supply and service the US PCB market. Oak-Mitsui is committed to maintaining a US manufacturing base and supplying the highest quality copper foil products to meet today’s and tomorrow’s PCB requirements. Insulectro has made our business stronger.”
Oak-Mitsui was incorporated in 1976 as a joint venture among Oak industries, Mitsui Mining and Smelting of Japan, and Anaconda. It was one of only three major companies in the United State manufacturing ultrathin copper foil for the printed circuit business. Over the years, the business has grown to become a leader in the supply of copper foil for the printed circuit board business in the U.S. Today, Oak-Mitsui is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui Kinzoku, the world leader in electrodeposited copper foil and is the only electrodeposited copper foil manufacturer in the US & North America.
About Insulectro
Insulectro is the largest supplier of PCB and printed electronics materials used to manufacture circuit boards. With ten stocking locations across North America, Insulectro supplies advanced engineered materials manufactured by DuPont, Isola, LCOA, CAC, Inc., Pacothane, Oak Mitsui, Shikoku, Focus Tech, and EMD Performance Materials. These products are used by its customers to fabricate complex, multilayer circuit boards in a variety of end markets including telecom, data communications, high speed computing, mobile devices, military, and medical.
About Oak-Mitsui
Oak-Mitsui is recognized as the technological leader in the manufacture of high-quality electrodeposited copper foils for the printed circuit board industry. With the strength of international scope, Oak-Mitsui produces both conventional cladding and application
specific copper foils required by technology's leading edge companies. At Oak-Mitsui, copper foils are electroformed on revolving titanium drums, unique for the ability to deposit copper foils with a high-quality surface. Electroformed foils are then subjected to a variety of surface treating operations contingent upon end-use requirements. During treating, copper dendrites are deposited onto the foil surface to enhance bonding to B-staged resins upon lamination. A "barrier-layer" is deposited for promoting reliability in thermal applications, specific proprietary organic layers are applied to promote chemical adhesion, and foils are stain-proofed to prevent oxidation in shipping, storage, lamination and post-bake cycles.
About CAC, Inc.
CAC, Inc. is a manufacturer of CAC® (Copper Aluminum Copper), it’s licensed and patented product featuring copper foil attached to one or both sides of an aluminum separator in its state-of-the-art clean room. CAC provides superior surface quality as well as maximizing press capacity and reducing layup time important to producers of increasingly high technology printed circuit boards. CAC’s proprietary process ensures particle and dent-free copper surfaces.
For more information, contact: John A. Lee Vice President of Marketing & Brand Strategy jlee@insulectro.com
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