Porex Expands SEA Operations, Talks Semicon Filtration Applications

Article By : Jonas Klar, EE Times Asia

Porous plastics player's presence boosted with new Kuala Lumpur offices and new production lines

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Filtration expert Porex unveiled a new customer operations center as well as an expanded fiber production line in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Officially inaugurated at an event on April 26th, the company aims to better serve customers locally and globally, with the new facilities including a 40 percent increase in operational floor space. By expanding its production capabilities of bonded and non-woven fiber lines, Porex aims to further expand its range of fiber blends used in medical, industrial as well as consumer facing markets.

Commenting on the expansion and its technology applications was Bill Foughty, senior VP of global operations: “We are currently focused on areas such as venting technologies for electronics, porous nibs for writing instruments and cosmetics applicators, and filtration solutions for biomedical and water treatment applications. However, given Asia’s diverse and vibrant markets, we are constantly on the lookout for new applications that would benefit from our expertise.”

Once various rituals and ceremonies were performed and ribbons had been decisively cut, EE Times had a brief sit-down with Nils Gustavsson, senior VP and GM of OEM technologies. “Semiconductors are evolving into extremely small conductors, with that comes a cleanliness factor that’s way beyond anything we have in medical and so on,” said Gustavsson when asked to explain what Porex does for the industry. “You saw how we manage liquids, we can do the same thing with gases. One of the key elements of cleaning semiconductors clean is using gases. Our media allows for the management of that, in a way that is unique and keeping the entire environment clean. This stuff that we’ve developed very closely with our partners who are suppliers to the semiconductor industry, that’s really where we fit in, with these types of treatments. And then we have water.”

Porex VP Nils Gustavsson

Nils Gustavsson demonstrating product samples (Image: Porex)

“We clean water to levels where there are no chemical contaminants, not even trace amounts,” continued Chan Huan Shen, Asia sales and marketing director. “One of the top fabs wants to stop buying water from municipal sources and use our filters to treat the natural water supply. Secondly, a lot of semiconductors include grinding and cutting. The solids need to be filtered and cleaned before further use, our filter membranes are extremely durable and effective in removing these fine particles. Thirdly, several assembly steps of electronics also involve use of chemicals, while pollution control is becoming more stringent. Many governments now want used water to be geologically discharged, they don’t want it back. We are now working on solutions to geologically discharge water.”

— Jonas Klar is an editor for EE Times Asia

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