Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Opens the Doors at the CMP Technologies Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center

Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies, a leader and innovator in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) technology for the global semiconductor industry, today officially opened its Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center in Taiwan. Representing a $50 million investment, this center is CMP Technologies' first CMP pad manufacturing site and technical center in Asia outside of Japan and will play a pivotal role in supporting regional customer growth. The site is located in the Hsinchu Science Park, Chunan satellite campus, a center of advanced 300mm manufacturing for the global semiconductor industry. By placing the CMP Technologies Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center here, the company will be close to local foundries, integrated device manufacturers, and memory device manufacturers, as well as having a central location to provide timely service to its customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This central location in the Hsinchu Science Park will also provide room for future expansion, as the industry continues to thrive and grow across the region. "Most of our business is located in the Asia-Pacific region, where much of the world's chip manufacturing business now resides, so Taiwan was a natural choice for the location of this facility,” said Mario Stanghellini, executive vice president, global sales and marketing, Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies. "In addition to our locally-based customers, this center will also support our customers, as well as our sales and customer service centers, throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It will enable us to meet our customers’ specific requirements quickly, reducing their cycle time and speeding up production, as they build new advanced 300mm fabs.” CMP Technologies' Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and Technical Center will serve as the production site for the company's next-generation IC1000™ polishing pads, the new IC1000™ AT pad, and the VisionPad™ family of products. This facility will provide increased pad manufacturing capacity to address the growing demands in the region. In addition to manufacturing, the 23,000-square-meter site will also house a sophisticated applications lab as well as sales and customer support offices. The applications lab will include a 300- to 500-square-meter class 10 clean room equipped for CMP polishing, cleaning and metrology, as well as standard analytical equipment for pad and slurry analysis. This will provide CMP Technologies with the capability to do customer demonstrations and support new product implementation locally and regionally. "Now is the perfect time for us to expand in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Jerry Yang, general manager for Taiwan, Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies. "This region's foundry industry holds a global market share in semiconductor manufacturing of 85.3 percent, with major expansions planned, according to industry analysts. This region could have as many as 25 or more 300mm fabs by the end of 2008. We also anticipate a significant increase in the use of CMP processes in the memory industry over the next several years.” The manufacturing and technical center will employ engineers, management and customer support staff, as well as operators and technical staff. Daniel Fang, Asia technology director for Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, CMP Technologies, will oversee the technical center, while Cliff Chen will serve as manager for the manufacturing plant. By 2010 the entire facility will house approximately 150 to 160 people, with manufacturing and laboratory personnel trained at Rohm and Haas facilities in the United States. About Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials develops and delivers innovative material solutions and processes to the electronic and optoelectronic industries. Focused on the circuit board, semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging industries, its products and technologies are integral elements in electronic devices around the world. The CMP Technologies business (formerly Rodel) has been a leader and innovator in polishing technology for the global semiconductor industry since 1969. CMP Technologies’ products include polishing pads, conditioners and slurries. CMP Technologies is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and maintains operations throughout the world, including manufacturing facilities in Newark, Delaware and in the Mie and Kyoto prefectures in Japan. Additional information is available at http://electronicmaterials.rohmhaas.com. About Rohm and Haas Company Leading the way since 1909, Rohm and Haas (NYSE:ROH) is a global pioneer in the creation and development of innovative technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry. The company’s technologies are found in a wide range of markets including: Building and Construction, Electronics, Food and Retail, Household and Personal Care, Industrial Process, Packaging, Paper, Transportation and Water. Our innovative technologies and solutions help to improve life everyday, around the world. Based in Philadelphia, PA, the company generated annual sales of approximately $8 billion in 2005. Visit www.rohmhaas.com for more information. Imagine the possibilities™. Safe Harbor Statement This release includes forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially, due to changes in current expectations. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement concern new products, product performance, corporate plans and development and involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change.