Rogers Corporation & Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. Form Joint Venture / Polyimide Laminate Systems (PLS) to Make Disk Drive Suspension Material
7.10.1999, 07:26
Tokyo (PROTEXT) - Yesterday in Tokyo, two company presidentssigned an agreement that creates a new specialty circuit materialcompany, Polyimide Laminate Systems (PLS). The new company is a50-50% joint venture between Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. of Tokyo,Japan, and Rogers Corporation (Amex: ROG) of Rogers, Connecticut,U.S.A. PLS will manufacture a specialty flexible circuit boardlaminate used for making the read/write head suspensionassemblies in high performance, hard disk drives (HDD's). Thesesuspension assemblies, produced by Hutchinson Technology, Inc.,(Nasdaq: HTCH) of Hutchinson, Minnesota, for advanced HDD's, arethe technology of choice in new HDD designs. Called TSA(TM) TraceSuspension Assemblies, this Hutchinson product allowsmanufacturers to lower costs and improve performance. Hutchinson,the world's leading supplier of suspension assemblies for HDD's,has led the advancement of drive technology since entering thebusiness in 1982. The new venture pairs the specialty material capabilities ofRogers with the specialty material and chemical capabilities ofMitsui, creating an outstanding opportunity to provide customerswith electronic materials that support advanced circuittechnologies. Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. President, Hiroyuki Nakanishi,commented, "We are very delighted to have a joint venture withRogers, a partner supplying superior electronic materials basedon outstanding market development activities." The President and C.E.O. of Rogers Corporation, Walter E.Boomer, said, "This agreement represents an exceptional synergyof material and chemical technologies. We have had an ongoingrelationship with Mitsui since 1990, and each partner has earnedthe deep respect of the other. I look forward to many years ofinnovative and profitable business activities together." Rogers Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, RobertD. Wachob, said, "This synergy has already allowed us to bring aunique and valuable product to market, one that helped enable thedesign of an entire generation of hard disk drives, and isalready beginning to support next generation designs for memorystorage. Sales of this product to HTI doubled in 1998, andcontinue to grow rapidly. The partnership with Mitsui is anexample of Rogers commitment to the market for high performanceadhesiveless materials, which is also growing rapidly." Hutchinson Technology, Inc. Vice President, Rich Myers,commented, "Hutchinson's TSA(TM) Trace Suspension Assemblies arerapidly becoming the wireless suspension platform of choice indemanding hard disk drive storage applications. The establishmentof the joint venture between Rogers Corporation and MitsuiChemicals, Inc., brings together two leading electronic materialsuppliers to provide geographical diversity and enhanced supplychain management for key materials used in the manufacture of theTSA(TM) products." PLS will be located in a new plant to be constructed inChandler, Arizona, and will become the domestic U.S.manufacturing facility, complementing the MCI facility in Nagoya,Japan. The PLS product is a specialty adhesiveless laminate,comprised of copper, polyimide, and stainless steel, that iscustom manufactured for exceptionally high performance flexiblecircuits. Rogers Corporation manufactures and markets specialtymaterials and components worldwide, for targeted applications inthe communications, computer, imaging, consumer, andtransportation markets. Rogers technical sales offices arelocated in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Belgium, and in the U.S.Rogers has two additional joint ventures. Rogers InoacCorporation (RIC), a 50/50% joint venture with Inoac Corporation,is a leading Japanese manufacturer of high performance elastomerproducts. RIC is located in Nagoya and Mie, Japan. DurelCorporation, a 50/50% joint venture with 3M, is a leadingmanufacturer of electroluminescent lamps and inverters. Durel islocated in Chandler, Arizona. Rogers Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this news release that are not strictlyhistorical are "forward-looking" statements which should beconsidered as subject to the many uncertainties that exist in theCompany's operations and environment. These uncertainties, whichinclude economic conditions, market demand and pricing,competitive and cost factors, and the like, are incorporated byreference in the Rogers Corporation 1998 Form 10-K filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. Such factors could causeactual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. ots Original Text Service: RogersCorporation Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: KarenKrider of Rogers Corp., (USA) 860-774-9605, orkaren.krider@rogers-corp.com; or Masakazu Yamada of MitsuiChemicals, +81-3-3592-4060, or masakazu.yamada@mitsui-chem.co.jp; or Rich Myers of Hutchinson Technology, (USA) 320-587-1850, or Rich.Myers@hti.htch.com Web site:http://www.mitsui-chem.co.jp
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