OPTORUN and ULVAC agree to a partnership for the sale of optical thin film deposition systems ULVAC to acquire share of OPTORUN stock

OPTORUN Co., Ltd. (OPTORUN; Headquarters: 10-1 Takeno, Kawagoe City, Saitama; President and Representative: Daiyu Son) announced today that it has reached a basic agreement with ULVAC, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as ULVAC; Headquarters: 2500 Hagisono, Chigasaki City, Kanagawa; President and CEO: Hidenori Suwa) to enter into a partnership for the sale of optical thin film deposition systems.

In East Asia, the rapid increase in the production of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for liquid crystal display (LCD) TV backlights, LED lights, smartphones, tablet PCs and other such products has led to the rapid expansion of markets for products using optical thin films, such as LEDs, touch panels and antifouling films for smartphones.

OPTORUN, a manufacturer specializing in optical thin film deposition systems, has been actively working to promote the sale of optical thin film evaporation and sputtering systems in East Asia, and it has a large share of the market for optical thin film evaporation systems.

At the same time, ULVAC has been engaged in the sale of various products in this area, such as systems for metal film evaporation, sputtering, etching and ashing. The company has also been working to promote the sale of sputtering systems for the deposition of optical thin films.

OPTORUN and ULVAC today agreed to enter into a partnership regarding the sale of optical thin film deposition systems, for which there is a growing market demand. The two companies will now be cooperating in the sale of optical thin film deposition systems in countries around the world excluding Japan. More specifically, this partnership is aimed at developing a unified sales system designed to sell evaporation systems for LEDs, indium tin oxide (ITO) films and other optical thin films manufactured by OPTORUN and sputtering systems for optical thin films manufactured by ULVAC.

The two companies will also cooperate in the sale of their products as partners in an integrated LED production line comprised of systems manufactured by ULVAC for metal film evaporation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), ITO sputtering, etching and ashing combined with optical thin film evaporation systems manufactured by OPTORUN.

In accordance with this partnership regarding the sale of optical thin film deposition systems, ULVAC also reached an agreement with OPTORUN to acquire 13% of OPTORUN stock in order to strengthen the relationship between the two companies. ULVAC will become OPTORUN's largest stockholder through the acquisition of this stock.

Company name	ULVAC, Inc.
Established	August 23, 1952
Representative	Hidenori Suwa, President and CEO
Capital	20,873.0425 million yen
Address	2500 Hagisono, Chigasaki City, Kanagawa
Number of employees	2,041 (7,169 on a consolidated basis) (as of June 30, 2010)
Business activities	Development, manufacture, sales, customer support and machinery importing/exporting activities related to vacuum equipment, peripheral devices, vacuum components and materials for the display, solar cell, semiconductor, electronics, electrics, metals, machinery, automotive, chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries, and for universities and research centers. Research guidance and technical consulting on all aspects of vacuum technology.

Company name	OPTORUN Co., Ltd.
Established	August 25, 1999
Representative	Son Daiyu, President and Representative
Capital	400 million yen
Address	10-1 Takeno, Kawagoe City, Saitama
Number of employees	60 (as of January 2010)
Business activities	Manufacture and sale of general-purpose optical film deposition systems, special optical thin film deposition systems, continuous optical thin film deposition systems, narrow band optical filter thin film deposition systems, high-performance optical filter thin film deposition systems, RF ion sources, optical monitors and measurement systems