DuPont, Samsung Announce Joint Venture Agreement For Flexible Circuit Materials

Wilmington, DE and Seoul, S. Korea -- DuPont Electronic Technologies and Cheil Industries, Inc., part of the Samsung Group, have signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement, pending local and government approvals, to establish SD Flex Company, LLC. SD Flex Company will manufacture DuPont Pyralux adhesiveless, flexible copper clad laminate (FCCL), the material instrumental in enabling advanced functionality and performance in displays, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other electronic devices.

The manufacturing facility for SD Flex Company will be constructed at Cheil's existing site in Gumi, Korea. The first manufacturing line within the new facility is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2005 with an initial capacity of 100,000 square meters per month, and will be expanded to keep pace with market demand. SD Flex Company will focus on serving primarily the Korean market.

"We are very pleased to be working with Cheil to meet the industry's growing demand for adhesiveless flexible printed circuits," said Craig G. Naylor, group vice president - DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies. "Cheil brings an excellent manufacturing capability and understanding of customer needs in the Korean marketplace. This complements and strengthens the existing position for DuPont in adhesiveless flexible materials."
"Cheil Industries' Electronic Chemical Material Division plans to play a pivotal role in today's multimedia society," stated Cheil's president & CEO, Je Jin-hoon. "This joint venture is a strong fit with our existing electronic materials portfolio and introduces the potential for more high-tech collaborative efforts between our two companies in the future."

SD Flex Company will focus on advanced cast-on copper clad laminate manufacturing technology licensed from DuPont Wirex. This technology reduces the layers in a flexible circuit from three to two, by eliminating an adhesive layer that prohibits maximum circuit density and flexibility and is often a cause of vulnerability to circuit failure. Two-layer cast-on copper technology enables more reliable, lighter and thinner devices and allows for extremely dense circuitry to carry more information faster. The global market size of adhesiveless FCCL was estimated to be over $300 million in 2003. Moreover, the annual growth rate is estimated at 35-40 percent, fueled primarily by demand for cell phones and displays.

Source: DuPont Electronic Materials