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Cutting-Edge Solutions in Semiconductor Manufacturing from Tokyo ElectronBest Products, Best Technical Service
Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL), backed by 58 years of history,
is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of production
equipment for semiconductor devices and flat panel displays.
It is the industry leader in several categories of a market thatis expanding steadily. Driving that growth are such emerging
technologies as the Internet of Things; artificial intelligence;
5G telecommunications; and telework, remote learning, andother responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We extend our heartfelt sympathy,” offers
TEL president and CEO Toshiki Kawai, “toall who have been affected by COVID-19.
We sincerely hope that the pandemic will be contained as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, we are doing our part to help
people everywhere cope with the distancing and other disruptions that it has
imposed. Helping enrich life through advances in semiconductor technology iswhat our company is all about. Today, thatmeans addressing immediate challenges
and equipping society to cope with thenew normal of the post-pandemic world.
“This is a team effort,” Kawai continues.
“Our sales and service engineers are out
there in the field, interacting with customers. They keep our development people apprised of where things are headedin the industry. The development people
then do their part, creating equipment
for manufacturing next-generation andnext-next-generation devices. The upstream players on the team are our factory
people. They translate our development
people’s leading-edge technologies into reliable, real-world production equipment.”

Robust growth“The industry” cited by Kawai is hugeand growing rapidly. Demand for semiconductor devices totaled $412.3 billion
in 2019, and demand appears headed for$1 trillion in the early 2030s (2000–2019,WSTS; 2020–, IBS, August 2020). TEL,The Growth that TEL Serves

Global Semiconductor Demand
1.2($ trillion)

1.0
0.8

Poised to double to$1 trillion by early 2030s

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
2000

2010

2020

2030

Sources: 2000–2019, WSTS; 2020–2030s, IBS

meanwhile, posted net sales of¥1,127.2 billion ($10.4 billion) in the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2020, and recorded
a net income margin of 16.4%.
Those figures reflect the largemarket share that the company has built inseveral product categories.
TEL is the largest or second-largest
supplier in several categories of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors
and flat panel displays. It serves 91% of
global demand for coater/developers insemiconductor production processes, forexample, and 65% of demand for etch/ash equipment in flat panel display production processes (Gartner, “Market Share:Semiconductor Wafer Fab Equipment,
Worldwide, 2019,” Bob Johnson, Gaurav
Gupta, April 14, 2020; TEL survey). TEL hasdelivered more manufacturing equipmentfor semiconductor devices and flat panel
displays than any other company in theworld. It has installed a total of 74,000
units worldwide and presently installs
about 4,000 units annually.

“Everywhere you look . . .”As for “equipping society to cope with thenew normal,” the COVID-19 pan­demic
has heightened demand for faster andlarger-capacity telecommunications. Big
data was already taking hold throughout
industry before the pandemic struck. The
crisis has since highlighted the value ofbig data analytics in epidemiology and inother sectors of medical care. That, alongwith surging demand in connection withtelecommunications and other applications
for electronic devices, is driving remarkable growth for the semiconductor market.
“Everywhere you look, you see applications for semiconductor devices,” observes
Kawai. “Telecommunications, including
remote learning; medical care, including
remote diagnoses; automobiles, including
autonomous driving; logistics, including

Toshiki Kawai, President & CEOTokyo Electron Limited

environmentally controlled handling forfood products and pharmaceuticals; allmanner of man-to-machine and machine-to-machine interfacing.”Fair play in competing tooffer the Best Products andthe Best Technical Service
Business outside Japan accounts for morethan 80% of TEL’s sales. The company serves
its global clientele through a network thatspans 78 locations in 18 countries and regions. Managing such a vast organization
in a swiftly changing industry demands adiversity of competences. Kawai is especially adamant, however, about the central
importance of one management trait.
“Fair play. We are as respectful of ourcompetitors as we are of our customers
and of our employees and our suppliers.
Fairness is our guiding principle in alldealings. We do our best to assert a competitive edge in products and service. Forus, playing to win means playing fair.”This advertising has been produced by Tokyo Electron Limited. It does not incorporate any reporting or editing by staff members of The Economist, and it implies no endorsement by this newspaper.