BOC Acquires Eco-Snow System's Operating and IP Assets; BOC Forms Alliance With ATS To Offer Precision Cleaning Solutions to Electronics Industry.Business Editors MURRAY HILL Murray Hill may refer to one of the following places:
BOC (Bell Operating Company) One of 22 companies that was formerly part of AT&T and later organized into seven regional companies. See RBOC. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : BOX) has acquired the key operating and intellectual property (IP) assets of Eco-Snow Systems, a world leader in the production and supply of carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. (CO2)-based snow cleaning equipment to the electronics industry. Eco-Snow is a subsidiary of ATS Automation Tooling Systems ATS Automation Tooling Systems (TSX: ATA) is a Cambridge, Ontario based company which designs and builds factory automation solutions. They have designed and built more than 10,000 automation systems in the areas of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, Inc. (TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension : ATA (1) (AT Attachment) The specification for IDE drives. See IDE. (2) See analog telephone adapter. ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment ). As part of the US$6.4 million transaction, BOC has also entered into a five-year, preferred equipment manufacturing agreement with ATS, under which ATS will continue to develop and manufacture Eco-Snow equipment for various high volume production applications. Under the agreement finalized last week, BOC will own Eco-Snow's IP assets and its cleanroom research facilities in Livermore, California Livermore is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 80,723 as of January 1, 2007.[2] Livermore is located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Livermore is a "major suburb" of the Bay Area. . The Eco-Snow team will join BOC. "The transition will be completely seamless for existing Eco-Snow customers - a key consideration for both ATS and BOC," said Neil Greenfield, senior vice president, business development, for BOC's Process Gas Solutions line of business. "Eco-Snow's cleaning technology fits well with BOC's existing capabilities as a major supplier of high purity gases, equipment and technologies to the electronics and related industries. This agreement will allow us to provide customers in the high growth precision cleaning sectors with a highly integrated and effective solution: high purity CO2 combined with innovative technology and high quality equipment," Greenfield said Eco-Snow Systems specializes in automated systems and tools for dry precision cleaning of surfaces using carbon dioxide snow, generated by expanding high purity, liquid carbon dioxide into a jet of high velocity gas and solid particles. This provides unique cleaning methods particularly suited to removing sub-micron particles from surfaces of critical electronic components. Eco-Snow has over six years of experience, widely accepted precision cleaning tools, a portfolio of over 20 patents, and a committed and technically excellent team. Klaus Woerner, ATS president and chief executive officer said, "When we acquired Eco-Snow in 1997, our goal was to turn it into a commercially viable technology and then use that technology to penetrate, what at the time were new automation market applications for ATS. We've successfully accomplished both of these goals and believe the time is right for Eco-Snow to gain broader market penetration. This transaction is ideal because BOC has a worldwide gas distribution, sales and service network with a unique combination of expertise in electronics processes know-how and CO2 applications, meaning they will accelerate adoption of Eco-Snow. ATS will therefore benefit because we retain the opportunity to produce Eco-Snow systems for BOC on an attractive, contract equipment manufacturing basis. ATS has targeted contract equipment manufacturing as an important area for future growth, so we consider this agreement very strategic. We believe this strategic partnership should have a powerful multiplier effect Multiplier Effect The expansion of a country's money supply that results from banks being able to lend. The size of the multiplier effect depends on the percentage of deposits that banks are required to hold on reserves. for both BOC and ATS." ATS/Eco-Snow and BOC have had a close working relationship under a joint marketing agreement. And since last July, BOC has been the exclusive distributor throughout Asia of Eco-Snow's precision cleaning equipment to manufacturers in the hard disk drive, compound semi-conductor, photo-mask repair, flat panel display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time and MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) Tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers. In the research labs since the 1980s, MEMS devices began to materialize as commercial products in the mid-1990s. industries. ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (www.atsautomation.com) is the industry's leading designer and producer of turn-key automated manufacturing and test systems, which are used primarily by multinational corporations operating in a variety of industries including: automotive, computer/electronics, healthcare, and consumer products. The Company also makes precision components, sub-assemblies and solar power products using its own custom-built manufacturing systems, process knowledge and automation technology. ATS (TSX: ATA) employs approximately 3,200 people at 26 facilities in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. BOC serves the electronics and related industries through two of its three lines of business. Process Gas Solutions (PGS PGS Pages PGS Petroleum Geo-Services PGS Planning Gain Supplement (UK land tax) PGS Parallel Giant Slalom (skiing and snowboarding competitions) PGS Plant Genetic Systems (Belgium) ) provides tailored solutions to the process needs of our largest customers, including those involved in electronic packaging applications. And BOC Edwards is synonymous with the semiconductor industry, supplying products and services to one of the world's most challenging industries. The BOC Group is one of the largest and most global of the world's leading gases companies. Serving two million customers in more than 50 countries, BOC employs some 46,000 people and had annual sales of over $6 billion in 2002. |
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