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NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS » Interview Interview with ASMPT’s Robin Ng and Günther Lauber “Our rebranding reflects our evolution into a global company” ASMPT, provider of hardware and software solutions for the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industries, recently opened a Centre of Competence (CoC) in Regensburg, Germany which will serve as a think tank for technical innovation. It also changed its name. At the opening of the CoC, we spoke to Robin Ng, Group CEO, and Günter Lauber, CEO and Executive VP, about the future of both the company and the sector. EPP Europe: The company recently underwent a rebranding from ‘ASM Pacific Technology’ to simply ‘ASMPT’. Why did you decide to take this step? making acquisitions such as SIPLACE in 2010 (placement), DEK in Great Britain (printing), ALSI in the Netherlands (laser dicing and grooving), NEXX (ECD Panel and Plating) and AEI (automotive CIS) in the US, and Critical Manufacturing (MES Software) in Portugal. Robin Ng, ASMPT Group Chief Executive Officer “Recent massive supply chain disruptions have been a major reason for this trend [for de-globalization]; behind these location changes is a desire to regain control over the supply chain to avoid depending on others.” Robin Ng, Group CEO of ASMPT Robin Ng: I need to go back in time a bit to answer that. The company started life in Hong Kong in 1975 as ASM Pacific Technology, the Asia-Pacific subsidiary of Netherlands-based ASM International. At the time, Hong Kong was fast becoming the epicentre of the global semiconductor market and we were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1989. The company then grew organically for about 40 years in the area of semiconductor solutions. In recent years, however, we have expanded into the European and US SMT and semiconductor markets, Our business now consists of two segments: semiconductor solutions and SMT solutions. With this distinctive portfolio, we have become the market leader in the two major domains of electronics manufacturing. The two areas don’t operate separately, however, and ASMPT has brought together the best of both worlds, evolving, in this way, from a machine supplier and tech expert to a provider of solutions including analytics, automation, scheduling software, and even complete factory solutions. Our rebranding as ASMPT reflects our evolution into a global company that provides a unique and broad portfolio of solutions for the manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics components. Source: ASMPT Günther Lauber: Our customers have not only welcomed our new brand, they also understand the added value we can offer them thanks to the close cooperation between our semiconductor and SMT segments. What kinds of ‘added value’ specifically? Lauber: Let’s take the SIPLACE CA2 as an example. Our new hybrid placement platform can process both SMT components and dies directly from the wafer – and all in the same work step. With regard to the name change, did you also want to make clear that you are a major player not just in Asia but worldwide? 6 EPP Europe » 04 | 2023
Ng: Yes, as I mentioned earlier, the progression of our acquisitions and our growth make it quite clear that we are a global company with a deep and broad footprint spread across solutions and geographies. Our customers work very closely with us. We have 17 R&D facilities around the world, including many involved in new product development for customers. Having these capabilities closer to our customers is a real advantage. These facilities enable us to respond to the continuing trend towards de-globalization in the semiconductor manufacturing sector which has seen some electronics manufacturers shifting production from Asia to North America and Europe. Without a doubt, recent massive supply chain disruptions have been a major reason for this trend; behind these location changes is a desire to regain control over the supply chain to avoid depending on others. Wherever possible, our customers prefer support and advice on-site from local teams. This is something we have long had in place for our SMT customers. For our semiconductor solutions customers and partners in Europe, the CoC here in Regensburg offers a direct point of contact to try things out, exchange ideas, and put our machines through their paces. Thus, while production may still take place in Asia, research and development can take place here. Added to this is the fact that many components used in electronics production are purpose-built for customers, and the CoC enables the exchanges that are essential for our teams to understand the customers’ exact requirements so that we can continue to develop new products and technologies. Source: ASMPT Robin Ng and Günter Lauber launching the first European ASMPT SEMI Center of Competence (CoC) in Regensburg, Germany EPP Europe » 04 | 2023 7
