To Penetrate the U.S. Market
SK Materials, an SK Group affiliate, has partnered with a Japanese semiconductor material company to advance into the North American market.
SK Materials announced on June 29 that it signed an MOU with Japan’s Showa Denko to study the feasibility of joint advancement into North America. SK Materials produces special gases used in semiconductor cleaning and deposition processes. Showa Denko has expertise in fluorine-based special gases and a global sales network.
The two companies set up SK Showa Denko, a joint venture, in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province of Korea, in 2017. SK Showa Denko is the No. 1 player in the global market for 3D NAND flash etching gas (monofluoromethane).
The two companies plan to enter the U.S. semiconductor materials market in earnest by signing this MOU. Due to the growing uncertainties in international situations, even the North American market urgently needs a stable supply of materials. Under these circumstances, SK Showa Denko will be able to grasp new business opportunities in the U.S. market, an SK official says.
The cooperation between the two companies has led some analysts to expect an easing in the frozen Korea-Japan relationship in the industrial world. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won recently visited Japan as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and met with Mimura Akio, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The two business leaders discussed economic cooperation between Korea and Japan. Moreover, Chey proposed a meeting of leaders of the two chambers of commerce in Busan in November.