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Intense Photonics Acquires Dupont Photomasks' Scottish Fabrication Facility

Source: Intense Photonics Ltd.

Management team secures plant just one week after first-round funding

The optoelectronic chip manufacturer Intense Photonics has acquired DuPont Photomasks fabrication facility in Hamilton - housing one of the most advanced clean room facilities in the UK - for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition gives Intense Photonics its own sophisticated semiconductor development and manufacturing facilities, speeding the commercialisation of the company s unique photonic integrated circuit (PIC) fabrication process. This in turn will substantially shorten time-to-market for the organisation s unique optical networking chips.

This move follows the company s first round funding by just one week, and signals Intense Photonics intention to brings its unique photonics technology to market early in the development cycle of optical networks.

"The facility is ideal for our needs", says David Lockwood, CEO of Intense Photonics. "The quality of the plant, especially the class one clean room and its associated equipment adds greatly to the current infrastructure of Intense Photonics, enabling both development of our opto-electronic process, and manufacturing".

"In the end, the success of a start-up usually boils down to the calibre of the management team", says John O Sullivan of ACT Venture Capital, one of the investors behind the company. "They have to be flexible, and quick to seize opportunity when it presents itself, and we are delighted at this rapid turn of events - it s an extremely significant step on the path to full commercial operations".

Chris Hodges of 3i adds, "This is great news for Intense Photonics. The acquisition not only provides an ideal facility and capability from which to drive its growth, but significantly reduces development timescales, whilst removing a number of major risks and challenges associated with the establishment of such operations".

The plant, which is only three years old, was constructed to exacting standards and incorporates a state-of-the-art clean room. It has over 3,800 square feet space (360m2) of ultra-clean class one space - built on a special vibrationless concrete foundation, and supported by sophisticated power and gas services - and a further 13,000 square feet (1200m2) of manufacturing and office areas.

Intense Photonics will be transferring semiconductor fabrication equipment from its Glasgow laboratories, and expects to have the site operational for development purposes in September 2001. Further semiconductor manufacturing equipment has been ordered and will be installed throughout 2001.

Intense Photonics anticipates that the new facility will house around 50 staff in the short term and will grow up to 80 by the medium term.

The new facility is located at Hamilton International Technology Park, High Blantyre, G72 0UX, Scotland.

Intense Photonics secured £7.75 million (approx. US$11 million) of first-round equity financing from 3i and ACT Venture Capital on June 26, 2001.

Contact: Barrie Nicholson Wordsun Tel: +44 (0)1258 840999 barrie@wordsun.com

Jim Ashe, VP Sales and Marketing Intense Photonics Ltd, Tel: +44 (0)141 589 7000 Fax: +44 (0)141 589 7039 enquiries@intensephotonics.com

 

Barrie Nicholson Wordsun
Tel: +44 (0)1258 840999
barrie@wordsun.com
Jim Ashe, VP Sales and Marketing
Intense Photonics Ltd,
Tel: +44 (0)141 589 7000
Fax: +44 (0)141 589 7039
enquiries@intensephotonics.com
 
E-mail: enquiries@intensephotonics.com
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