SEH America, Inc.
Background Information

September 24, 1999

About the Company

SEH America, Inc. (SEH-A) is part of the largest producer of semiconductor silicon in the world, Shin-Etsu Handotai, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo. SEH-A is the only U.S. manufacturing facility in the Shin-Etsu Handotai Group, part of the Shin-Etsu Chemical Corporation of Japan. The Shin-Etsu group is more than one hundred companies producing everything from silicon wafers to plastics.

SEH-A’s Vancouver, Washington facility employs more than 1,600 people who work to manufacture single-crystal silicon ingots, polished and epitaxial wafers, and who provide service and engineering support for customers.

Silicon wafers are the building blocks of the semiconductor industry. It is a highly competitive industry worldwide with relatively few manufacturers competing on price. Silicon wafers are the foundations upon which integrated circuits are placed before being cut into microchips. SEH-A supplies silicon wafers to customers who use the wafers as components in the production of integrated circuits (ICs). The demand for silicon wafers worldwide is based on the demand for consumer products that use integrated circuits such as computers, lasers, automotive electronics, and appliances.

In 1995, SEH-A embarked on an expansion project that added buildings with an additional 900,000 square feet of space to the site, of which only about a quarter is currently being used for manufacturing due to overcapacity in our industry.

Community Involvement

SEH-A and its employees actively participate in the Counsel for the Homeless and the United Way fundraising drives and volunteer days.

Through Junior Achievement, SEH-A employees provide business training to high school students.

SEH America contributed 80 percent of the development and construction costs for the recently opened Image Child Care Center expansion; the center, adjacent to the SEH-A property, is available for the benefit of employees and community members alike.

SEH-A employees participate in community events and activities such as the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society), Race for the Cure, Portland-to-Coast Relay, Dragon Boat races, and a host of local, recreational sports teams.

SEH America is a leader in the employment of special groups such as the physically and developmentally challenged, and individuals displaced from other industries.

SEH America helped fund Image Day Care’s 1999 reading program aimed at helping increase children’s reading skills over the summer.

Recent Awards and Recognition

SEH America has been an ISO9002 Certified company since 1993. ISO 9002 is the international quality standard.

September 1998—SEH America received ISO 14001 Certification. ISO 14001 is the international standard that defines Environmental Management Systems (EMS). To receive the certification, as SEH-A did, a company must have an active EMS which incorporates an environmental policy, training and awareness of the company’s environmental aspects and impacts, objectives and targets for improvement, and periodic audits of the system.

January 7, 1999—The Multiple Sclerosis Society presented SEH America with their Employer of the Year award. SEH America was selected from among 12 finalists for the award, which is based on a company’s willingness to accommodate people with disabilities, including MS.

April 21, 1999—The Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment recognized SEH America as the Large Private Employer of the Year.

Summer 1999—Washington State and C-TRAN presented SEH-A with a 1999 Commute Trip Reduction Award for SEH-A’s achievement of Commute Trip Reduction goals.

June 2000--The Association of Washington Businesses (AWB) awarded SEH-A their Overall Winner award for Environmental Excellence.

For further information contact:
Director, Human Resources
SEH America, Inc.
(360) 883-7000