Dec 04, 2013 ASM Pacific Technology Limited ("ASMPT"), the world’s leading supplier of equipment for the electronics manufacturing industry and traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Dover Printing & Identification, Inc. and Dover Corporation to acquire printer specialist DEK.
With more than USD 167 million sales in 2012 and over 700 employees worldwide, DEK is one of the world’s leading suppliers of screen printing equipment for the surface mount technology (SMT), semiconductor, solar cell and fuel cell metallization industries. If approved by the antitrust authorities, ASMPT will integrate DEK into its SMT business segment which ASMPT established in 2011 when it acquired the SIPLACE SMT placement machine business from Siemens. Together, SIPLACE and DEK will be able to develop and offer electronics producers solutions that deliver significant quality and efficiency benefits by aligning the printing and placement processes.
Through this acquisition, ASMPT continues its growth strategy to become the equipment supplier for the complete electronics production chain. The success of its special-purpose machines for singulation, bonding, molding, inspection, sorting and packaging has made ASMPT the world’s leading supplier of backend solutions for the semiconductor industry. In 2011, ASMPT acquired the SIPLACE placement machine business and made it part of its new SMT business segment with great success. If the transaction proceeds, the DEK team with its more than 700 employees worldwide is scheduled to be integrated into this business segment as its “Pre-Placement” division, where it will cooperate with the “Placement” division’s SIPLACE team. The new “Pre-Placement” division will be led by Michael Brianda, who is currently the CEO of DEK. Günter Schindler, currently COO of the SIPLACE team, will take over the management of the “Placement” division, and Günter Lauber, the current SIPLACE head and CEO of ASM Assembly Systems, will be the CEO of the significantly increased SMT business segment.
“All of us look forward to welcoming the DEK team at ASMPT. We share a very similar culture of innovation. Together we will become even stronger for the benefit of current and new customers. I am confident that DEK and SIPLACE will be able to create completely new approaches in the SMT business by working together under the leadership of Günter Lauber, CEO of our SMT business segment” said WK Lee, CEO of ASMPT.
Integration of printing and placement processes
The future organizational proximity of the SIPLACE and DEK teams as part of the ASMPT SMT business segment will not come about by accident. ASMPT expects the improved integration in printing and placement to lead to more consistent process chains and ultimately significant quality and efficiency improvements in the SMT process. Günter Lauber, CEO of the SMT business segment: “As a team we will be able to offer not only Best-in-Class placement machines and printers. By working together, the developers and applications engineers at SIPLACE and DEK will also be able to develop consistent and transparent process chains. This will allow us to generate quality and cost benefits for the electronics production industry that other suppliers cannot offer.”
“We are very pleased about this new step in our company development. It protects the future of the DEK team and opens the door to extremely interesting prospects in the development and sale of integrated SMT solutions. The decision which has already been made guarantees our customers and partners a high level of continuity. Most of all, however, this deal will create very interesting development opportunities and potential improvements for our customers,” said Michael Brianda, CEO of DEK.
ASMPT was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1989. The Group is principally engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of machines, tools and materials used in the assembly and packaging of semiconductors and surface mount technology, with operations being carried out in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany. Currently, ASMPT is one of the constituent stocks on the Hang Seng HK MidCap Index under the Hang Seng Composite Index, the Hang Seng Information Technology Industry Index, the Hang Seng Hong Kong 35 index and the Hang Seng Global Composite Index.
