SKC acquires patented technology to produce CMP pads for polishing semiconductor wafers from Dongsung A&T
The newly acquired technology is expected to synergistic effects with existing businesses, with the sales target set for 100 billion won by 2020
Addition of high value-added specialty materials to the business portfolio expedites SKC’s growth into a global materials manufacturer.



SKC (CEO Jeong Gi-bong) announced on September 17, 2015 that it had entered into an asset purchase agreement with Dongsung A&T under which SKC will take over Donsung’s patent for a CMP pad and goodwill, paving the way for the company to compete in the market for CMP pads for polishing semiconductor wafers. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pad is a polyurethane product that is used to polish the surface of semiconductor wafers. By taking advantage of its technology and competence in the chemicals business, SKC will be able to produce raw materials for CMP pads, and promote a full lineup of products ranging from raw materials to finished products, and plans to mass produce the product to world-class standards within this year.



With synergistic effects from its core technologies, SKC aims to become a global CMP pad maker

CMP pads, a high value-added product used in the semiconductor CMP process, entails certain patent complications which make it difficult to enter the market. For this reason, U.S.-_ base_d global CMP pad makers dominate both global and domestic markets, with a combined market share of more than 80%. The contract will enable SKC to secure the patented technology and thus equip itself with a complete system of production for everything from raw materials to finished products. In particular, SKC intends to maximize synergistic effects by applying the polyurethane-manufacturing technology and product development competence it has accumulated over almost 30 years to the production of CMP pads in order to cater to the varying needs of clients with top-quality products and, ultimately, to compete globally. In addition to the emerging CMP pad business, SKC is preparing to produce CMP slurry, a chemical substance used in the CMP process, which is expected to further boost synergistic effects.



100 billion won in sales by 2020



CEO Jeong said, “The CMP pad is a high-performance and high value-added polyurethane product that requires constant technological innovations. SKC will remain committed to helping Korea’s semiconductor industry become even more competitive by generously investing in R&D and developing world-class products that can substitute imports, with our sales target set for 100 billion won by 2020”. The demand for CMP pad is growing constantly as the semiconductor production process becomes increasingly sophisticated. The world CMP pad market is estimated to be around 1 trillion won and the domestic market is worth approximately 200 billion won. Korea is lagging behind in terms of technology, thus putting a brake on the domestic production of CMP pads.



SKC is poised to rise as a global materials maker, with the focus on high value-added specialty materials



Under the banner of “growing into a global specialty materials maker,” SKC is aggressively expanding its business portfolio in include high-performance materials. The company launched the jounce bumper, a polyurethane-_ base_d automobile material last year, and completed its development of a rail pad for trains, which will soon be available in the market. In addition, SKC began the commercial production of ferrite sheet, a mobile phone material, and successfully commercialized its polymeric magnet sheet (PMS) through the application of its own in-house technology. SKC’s business portfolio was further expanded with the acquisition of a semiconductor chemicals business and Bioland jointly with other domestic companies. With the acquisition of these new businesses, SKC stepped into the natural materials sector, steadily increasing its portion of specialty products. The company plans to raise the proportion of specialty products to 33% of total sales by 2018 (i.e. up from 13% as of the end of 2014).