BIEMT Completes First Phase of Sapphire Growth Initiative, Looks to Future Growth With ARC Energy

SOUTH CHUNGCHEONG PROVINCE, Korea & NASHUA, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIEMT Co., Ltd. has completed its first phase sapphire growth initiative with mass production of large diameter sapphire substrates using ARC Energy’s CHES furnaces. BIEMT is ARC Energy’s first customer in Korea and has achieved success in manufacturing and selling 6-inch (150mm) diameter sapphire cores and wafers to top LED manufacturing companies for HB-LED applications.

“Our sapphire growth initiative has reached an important milestone and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with ARC Energy”

“Our sapphire growth initiative has reached an important milestone and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with ARC Energy,” said J. C. Lee, vice president of BIEMT. “We are pleased to be successful even during these challenging times for the LED industry.”

BIEMT has taken a leadership position in the production of large diameter sapphire substrates for the LED industry. They have grown the tallest c-axis sapphire boules using CHES technology. Its partnership with ARC Energy will continue as performance upgrades for CHES furnaces are implemented in 2013.

“We value our relationship with BIEMT as our first customer in Korea,” said Hap Hewes, senior vice president at ARC Energy. “They have realized very high performance from their CHES equipment and we look forward to providing them with further performance and productivity enhancements.”

BIEMT is well-positioned as demand for LEDs is expected to significantly increase over the next five years. Their positioning as a large diameter substrate provider gives them a competitive advantage over companies relying on older a-axis technology. ARC and BIEMT are pleased to have this partnership in place and look forward to strengthening it in the future.

About BIEMT

BIEMT Co., Ltd. is a Korea-based company specialized in the semiconductor business. The company operates its business through two segments: semiconductor material segment and light emitting diode (LED) sapphire ingots. On July 10, 2012, the company spun off its LED sapphire ingot business into a newly established wholly owned subsidiary. For additional information about BIEMT, please visit www.biemt.co.kr.

Headquartered in Nashua, N.H., the Advanced RenewableEnergy Company, LLC (ARC Energy), was founded in 2007 to commercialize cutting-edge technologies for LED and other clean energy markets. For additional information about ARC Energy, please visit www.arc-energy.com.