On March 1, 2004 the Austrian PLANSEE Group increased its share in the Tokyo based JAPAN VACS METAL Co. Ltd. from 50 to 84 %. JAPAN VACS METAL has been PLANSEE’s partner for many years in manufacturing and marketing products of high performance materials and since 1999 the Austrian industrial group has been a shareholder. Customers in the field of semiconductor industry in Japan and South-East-Asia are supplied. JAPAN VACS METAL achieved a total turnover of 22 M€ in the last fiscal year.

“Some minority shareholders decided to sell, only Mr. Noriaki Nakayama, our long-term managing director, remains shareholder”, says Michael Schwarzkopf, Chairman of the Executive Board of PLANSEE. The purchase price of the transaction completed on March 1, 2004 was not revealed.

“The semiconductor market has recovered after the set-back in the years 2001 and 2002”, states Schwarzkopf. The increased commitment takes place at the right time as South-East-Asia becomes more and more the center of the international semiconductor industry.

PLANSEE and JAPAN VACS METAL have operated the joint production company VACS PRECISION in Esashi, Iwate since 1989. In total the PLANSEE Group employs 200 people in five companies in Japan. In the last business year sales of 50 M€ was achieved in this important market.