CSK Holds a Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Plant

South Chungcheong Province has attracted the world's No. 1 company in the field of vacuum equipment for semiconductor and display processes and the world's No. 3 company in the gas processing equipment field.

On the 7th, South Chungcheong Province signed an investment agreement (MOU) worth $110 million with Kate Wilson, President of Edward UK, Jason Yun, General Manager of CSK and Edward Korea, and Oh Se-hyun, Mayor of Asan, in the provincial hall conference room on the 7th.

Edward and CSK will build a new integrated system production plant, including vacuum pumps and gas processing equipment for semiconductor and display processes, on a 57,81㎡ site in the Tangjeong General Industrial Complex in Asan.

Edward and CSK are affiliates of the Swedish Atlas Copco Group and own 100% and 56% of the shares, respectively.

Atlas Copco is a world leader in industrial equipment, with 40,000 employees and sales of 13.5298 trillion won as of last year.

Opened in 1919, Edward is headquartered in Burgess Hill, England, and is the world's No. 1 company in the production of semiconductor vacuum pumps.

In 2011, it decided to establish its global vacuum pump production base in Korea, and invested 116 billion won in Cheonan over the past 10 years. The current number of employees is 1,056.

CSK, which has its headquarters and factory in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do and produces gas processing equipment for semiconductor and display processes, is a Korean joint venture acquired by Atlas Copco in 2017. CSK ranks first in domestic gas processing equipment market share and third in the world in sales.

South Chungcheong Province expects that if Edward and CSK invest and operate normally as planned, there will be a sales increase of 658.1 billion won, an export effect of 337.6 billion won, and the creation of 270 new jobs over the next five years.

Yang Seung-jo, governor of South Chungcheong Province, said, “The investment by Edward and CSK will be a great help in strengthening the competitiveness of Korea’s semiconductor and display industries,” and added, “We will actively support the development of both companies.”