ICHR Company Profile

We are a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment. Our product offerings include gas and chemical delivery subsystems, collectively known as fluid delivery subsystems, which are key elements of the process tools used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. Our gas delivery subsystems deliver, monitor and control precise quantities of the specialized gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etch and deposition. Our chemical delivery subsystems precisely blend and dispense the reactive liquid chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as chemical-mechanical planarization, electroplating, and cleaning. We also manufacture precision machined components, weldments, and proprietary products for use in fluid delivery systems for direct sales to our customers. This vertically integrated portion of our business is primarily focused on metal and plastic parts that are used in gas and chemical systems, respectively.

Fluid delivery subsystems ensure accurate measurement and uniform delivery of specialty gases and chemicals at critical steps in the semiconductor manufacturing processes. Any malfunction or material degradation in fluid delivery reduces yields and increases the likelihood of manufacturing defects in these processes. Historically, semiconductor original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, internally designed and manufactured the fluid delivery subsystems used in their process tools. Currently, most OEMs outsource all or a portion of the design, engineering and manufacturing of their gas delivery subsystems to a few specialized suppliers, including us. Additionally, many OEMs are also increasingly outsourcing the design, engineering and manufacturing of their chemical delivery subsystems due to the increased fluid expertise required to manufacture these subsystems. Outsourcing these subsystems has allowed OEMs to leverage the suppliers’ highly specialized engineering, design and production skills while focusing their internal resources on their own value-added processes. We believe that this outsourcing trend has enabled OEMs to reduce their fixed costs and development time, as well as provided significant growth opportunities for specialized subsystems suppliers like us.

Our goal is to be a leading supplier of outsourced fluid delivery subsystems and components to OEMs engaged in manufacturing capital equipment to produce semiconductors and to leverage our technology to expand our addressable markets. To achieve this goal, we engage with our customers early in their design and development processes and utilize our deep engineering resources and operating expertise to jointly create innovative and advanced solutions that meet the current and future needs of our customers. These collaborations frequently involve our engineers working at our customers’ sites and serving as an extension of our customers’ product design teams. We employ this approach with two of the largest manufacturers of semiconductor capital equipment in the world. We believe this approach enables us to design subsystems that meet the precise specifications our customers demand, allows us to often be the sole supplier of these subsystems during the initial production ramp and positions us to be the preferred supplier for the full five to ten-year lifespan of the process tool.

The broad technical expertise of our engineering team, coupled with our early customer engagement approach, enables us to offer innovative and reliable solutions to complex fluid delivery challenges. With two decades of experience developing complex fluid delivery subsystems and meeting the constantly changing production requirements of leading semiconductor OEMs, we have developed expertise in fluid delivery that we offer to our OEM customers. In addition, our capital efficient model and the integration of our business systems with those of our customers provides us the flexibility to fulfill increased demand and meet changing customer requirements with relatively low levels of capital expenditures. With an aim to superior customer service, we have a global footprint with many facilities strategically located in close proximity to our customers.

Gas Delivery Subsystems

Gas delivery is among the most technologically complex functions in semiconductor capital equipment and is used to deliver, monitor and control precise quantities of the vapors and gases critical to the manufacturing process. Our gas delivery systems consist of a number of gas lines, each controlled by a series of mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, and an integrated electronic control system. Our gas delivery subsystems are primarily used in equipment for “dry” manufacturing processes, such as etch, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, epitaxy and strip.

Chemical Delivery Subsystems

Our chemical delivery subsystems are used to precisely blend and dispense reactive chemistries and colloidal slurries critical to the specific “wet” front-end process, such as wet clean, electro chemical deposition (“ECD”), and chemical-mechanical planarization (“CMP”). In addition to the chemical delivery subsystem, we also develop the process modules that apply the various chemicals directly to the wafer in a process and application-unique manner to create the desired chemical reaction.

Weldments

Our complete offering of weldments support the delivery of fluids through the process tool. We have developed both automated and manual welding process to support world class workmanship on all types of metals needed to support fluid delivery within the semiconductor market. The welded assemblies are used in both wet and dry processes.

Precision Machining

Precision machining provides the ability to supply our customers with components used in our gas delivery systems and weldments, while also providing custom machined solutions throughout customers’ equipment. Many of these items are used downstream of the gas system and in process critical applications. Our precision machined products can be used in both wet and dry applications.