Sumitomo Acquires Primaxx

Japan-based Sumitomo Precision Products Co. Ltd. announced last week it has acquired Primaxx Inc., a venture-funded manufacturer of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) etch-release equipment. Terms of the all-cash transaction were not disclosed.

Primaxx began in 1998 as a spinoff from Sub-Micron Systems with investors JP Morgan, Techfarm Ventures and a large microprocessor manufacturer. The company is based in Allentown, Pa., where it makes processing equipment for MEMS and semiconductors in its 15,000-sq-ft laboratory and production facility. Its dry etch release technology provides a method to selectively etch sacrificial layers in MEMS device structures without leaving any residue. Primaxx maintains demonstration labs in Allentown, at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa., and through one of its Japanese representatives in Amagasaki.

Sumitomo Precision Products (SPP) also owns a majority stake in Surface Technology Systems (STS) Plc a Newport, Wales, provider of deep silicon etch technology for the production of semiconductors and semiconductor-related devices. Primaxx's technology complements that of STS and moves its group of companies into the worldwide MEMS production equipment market, SPP said.

"Our new status as an SPP Group company will provide us with a financial and technological framework to further develop our MEMS business and will also fund development in other related areas, including wafer surface modification," said Paul Hammond, Primaxx president and CEO.

For more information, visit: www.primaxxinc.com