While the mission of TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America includes expanding the sales of existing products and contributing to revenue growth for TEL, our most forward-looking mission is all framed around the introduction of new leading-edge product technology into the market. We have some novel technology that does not exist anywhere else in TEL. With the support of the corporation, we are now able to turn that into real solutions for our customers.

We also function as a US-based hub for the TEL Group. We have TEL Technology Center, America, a site for R&D and process integration, as well as Tokyo Electron America, which is a hub for semiconductor knowledge. By utilizing R&D information collected from these sites, TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America strives to reduce the lead time taken from development to production and deliver our equipment to our customers even faster. As device manufacturing is becoming increasingly more complex, acceleration of R&D is essential for TEL’s future business to meet customer demands.

New innovative ideas originate either in the United States or in Japan. TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America has the unique capability to rapidly prototype equipment as a part of our mission. Whether these new concepts are transferred to factories in Japan or end up as products manufactured by TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America in the United States, I think it’s very clear that we are now playing a valuable role for TEL.

One of the main initiatives is increasing production capacity. With several of our new products entering the market and ramping to the HVM (high-volume manufacturing) stage, we need to respond well to product demand shifts to maximize sales. It includes continuous optimization of the factory layout, improvements in manufacturing methods, acquisition of additional staff, and more.

Another initiative is applying known engineering methods and processes from Japan. We established a development flow by referencing the system of our factories in Japan. Following that, we have implemented several new systems into TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America with support from Japan. For example, systems related to development, quality management, and safety. Going forward, we will continuously optimize the system to maintain the quality of Japanese factories through continuous efforts.

TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America can observe what is being done in Japanese factories, take best practices, and apply them in addition to our current practices. We’re very blessed to have some experienced senior leaders from each area as expats in TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America. We can learn directly from their experience and coaching in order to more rapidly achieve higher levels of performance. Our vision is ultimately to become the best at the TEL Group.

The challenge we always have is “understanding”: ensuring that we don’t accept a superficial level of the best approach but have dialogue to understand at a very deep level the thought process, necessary tools and skills, etc. We want to move quickly, but we also need to take time to have appropriate discipline. It requires deep dialogue and investigation.

We will further enhance safety as well. We have established a new safety team within TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America. We will make a strong safety, environmental, and health team.

“Safety, quality, and compliance” are always our number one priority. These will remain our main focus, although we have had a good track record of safety in the factory, which has been recognized repeatedly in the state of Minnesota. We recognize that all elements of quality also need to be elevated, starting from supply chain, manufacturing quality, and then, ultimately, our service quality out in the field.

Acrevia™ has been the centerpiece of our product strategy in this recent period. Since TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America was established in 2019, it’s the first leading-edge product introduced to the market. In that sense, it’s emblematic of our journey and success in terms of contribution to TEL. In addition to its capabilities that allow our customers to achieve high yield at a lower cost, Acrevia™ will offer them many other applications that will develop in the future.

The success of Acrevia™ is important not only for TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America and TEL, but also for our customers. Our customers will implement the product into high NA EUV (numerical aperture extreme ultra-violet) lithography systems. If we can successfully develop several applications, customers’ total production efficiency will be dramatically enhanced using our tool.

Acrevia™ was born in the United States, while also supported by the TEL Japan team for sales, development, quality, field support, etc. TEL has extensive field experience, having installed over 93,000 tools for customers worldwide. By combining US & Japan team efforts and cooperation, I believe we can contribute to customer satisfaction, especially for those who are manufacturing cutting-edge devices.

That’s right. In addition to Acrevia™, we will work on future project in collaboration with the corporate R&D team, Japanese factories, and Tokyo Electron America. It will be truly the combined efforts of the group. I think these kinds of group-wide projects are a first-time experience for TEL, so I’d like to accelerate and pursue further collaboration.

Building on your comment, I do feel strongly that TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America is positioned quite uniquely within the TEL Group. TEL is looking at these new product development approaches as a model for what is possible across the rest of the company. Combining technology from the United States with concepts and components from Japan, it is a truly exceptional example of collaboration in an advanced space, leading to tangible outcomes. While it is exciting, we also feel a strong sense of responsibility at the same time because we are aware of the attention from top management.

TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America has the unique benefit of being able to capitalize on knowledge and technology from our Japan domestic factories while integrating that with our own unique technology. Our intent is to successfully grow the scale of manufacturing and development in the US, and the support and exchange of information with the larger factories has been a critical ingredient in our progress.

As we mentioned previously, TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America is a very unique factory in the TEL Group and has leading-edge products, mature products, and a lab-to-fab pipeline. We are hoping to contribute to TEL’s business and accelerate R&D for the TEL Group. Our unique activities will be achieved by all TEL supporters. We would like to develop very strong connections with all of them and give back to the TEL Group by successfully becoming the One Of a Kind Factory.
We have about 30 expats from Japan, and also receive support from Japan with six or seven people dedicated to supporting us remotely as well. Their support definitely accelerates our growth.

TEL Manufacturing and Engineering of America has diverse members with various nationalities and backgrounds. They are all actively engaged in development, manufacturing, and sales. Becoming One Team as TEL, we believe there will be potential to continuously provide exciting innovations driven by new TEL’s DNA. Eeveryone has burning enthusiasm in their hearts. We’re welcoming those who are interested in TEL and working on this kind of project!