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AIR PRODUCTS, KINETIC SYSTEMS, INC. TO
RETIRE TRiMEGA JOINT VENTURE
Lehigh Valley, Pa. (April 30, 2004) - After five
years of providing turnkey support and services to the U.S.-based
semiconductor industry, Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Kinetic
Systems, Inc. have decided to let their operating contract
for the TRiMEGA joint venture (JV) expire. The agreement
reflects changes in an evolving semiconductor industry that
is shifting more of its production and manufacturing functions
to Asia.
Both companies anticipated this regional shift and have
allocated resources and capital to support the growing Asian
market. As a result, each company has competitively positioned
itself in Asia and can provide a variety of turnkey services
and infrastructure support the TRiMEGA JV jointly offered
in the US and Europe.
“The TRiMEGA joint venture had a successful five-year
run and continued to exceed expectations despite an unfavorable
economic environment,” said Joseph Stockunas, Air Products
general manager of electronics equipment. “In its five
years, we believe it helped to redefine the way in which
customers in the semiconductor industry are served.”
“Kinetics and Air Products have successfully worked
together on projects for almost 20 years,” added Kurt
Gilson, president of Kinetic Systems, Inc. “The TRiMEGA
joint venture was an example of that strong relationship,
and largely through the support of our customers and employees,
we were able to provide a truly unique offering that will
continue to redefine the project delivery approach for process
materials in a semiconductor fab.”
The 50/50 joint venture, which primarily serviced customers
in the United States and Europe, is at the end of a five-year
contract and will expire May 31, 2004. During that time,
it served as a one-stop solution for fab process systems,
offering customers a comprehensive service package ranging
from the initial fab design to a variety of specialty chemicals
and gases product offerings.
The agreement ends a joint venture between the two companies
that generated over $300 million in revenue, while successfully
implementing more than 30 projects during that time.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements.
Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in
current expectations.
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