APD Air Products and Chemicals Inc

Air Products to Expand Its Worldwide NF3 Capacity LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Products today announced the expansion of its Hometown, Pa. Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3) production facility, a move triggered by growth in the global electronics industry. The expansion helps to solidify Air Products' position as the world's leading manufacturer of this high-volume electronics specialty material. NF3 is used as a chamber cleaning gas in the manufacture of semiconductor and flat panel displays. When compared with competing products, NF3 customers benefit from a significant reduction in emissions, throughput increases of up to 30%, longer chamber life and faster clean rates. NF3 is also stable and non-flammable, making it a safe gas to transport, store and deliver to the customer's process tools. Air Products is currently a leading supplier of the world's NF3 to the global electronics industry, and the addition to its facility in Hometown will increase its optimized current capacity by nearly 50 percent. The NF3 expansion is slated to be completed and online in spring 2005. "We've been able to successfully penetrate an evolving industry with a product that is not only safe and environmentally sound, but significant to the manufacturing of electronics worldwide," said Jerry Ermentrout, vice president and general manager, Electronics. "Our customers' demands for NF3 are growing, driven in part by the 300mm integrated circuit fab ramp and flat panel display market expansion. Our Hometown expansion allows us to meet those demands starting now." In anticipation of the electronics industry recovery, Air Products pre- invested in its Hometown facility to expedite NF3 capacity expansion and to ensure a continued and reliable customer supply. The multi-year investment strategy now positions Air Products to meet the increase in demand for NF3 - a product whose volume continued to grow despite the late industry downturn. That, coupled with an estimated 18 percent growth rate in the flat panel and 300mm silicon industries through 2007, means Air Products is aligned to meet upcoming customer demand. The company maintains reliable NF3 supply through multiple independent plants that continue to be optimized, and has built a solid Asian infrastructure to facilitate the movement of NF3 and other specialty products through strategically placed transfills in Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Air Products has safely manufactured and distributed NF3 for over a quarter century from its Hometown facility. The expansion follows a recent Samsung announcement in which Air Products will supply NF3 to Samsung's newest flat panel display factory located in Tangjung, Korea. The Samsung generation 7 facility is the first of its kind and will require up to four times the amount of NF3 as is used in traditional semiconductor fabs. To view the full text of this announcement, please visit Air Products' online Press Room at http://www.airproducts.com/PressRoom/CompanyNews/Archived/2004/04142_27Apr04.htm. DATASOURCE: Air Products CONTACT: Media Inquiries: Tom Yencho, +1-610-481-1192, e-mail: ; or Investor Inquiries: Alexander W. Masetti, +1-610-481-7461, e-mail: , both of Air Products Web site: http://www.airproducts.com/

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