“Investments are now noticeable again in specialty gases and metal organics (MO) for LED and other compound semiconductors. Akzo Nobel (headquartered in Amsterdam) of the world leading Dutch manufacturer will reinforce its production facility for trimethyl gallium (TMG) of the main base material for MO with a planned start of operation in August 2014 in Houston, Texas, US.

Prior to this investment Akzo Nobel is going to construct a plant to produce trimethyl aluminum (TMA) to make TMG with a scheduled completion sometime after July 2013. No details are available regarding either the amount of investment or the scale of reinforcement. The investment is intended to respond to the increased demand for LED and other articles whose growth is expected from now on.

It seems that Akzo is producing a total of 40 tons of TMG in its plants located in La Porte, Indiana and Texas, which is estimated to be the largest output in the world. This investment is implemented for the fifth time following those in June and November 2010, February and December 2011. Most probably, the difference in production capacity from that of other manufacturers will be widened much more than ever.

Albemarle (in Louisiana) of American chemical company will expand its production capacity of TMG, TMA and Triethyl Gallium in its MO producing plant with a planned completion within 2013, at Yeosu City of South Jeolla province in the Soutwestern region of Korea.

Jenny S. Hebert, Albemarle’s global product manager of electronic materials says, “We have a share of 80% in the East Asian LED market, and this investment in the Korean plant will contribute to reduction of the transportation cost and assurance of the stable condition to supply MO in the highly growing district.”

Furthermore, SAFC Hitech of US whose production base is located in Merseyside of the United Kingdom has announced that it completed a plant to produce TMG, TMA and Trimethyl Indium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in May 2012. The capacity to produce TMG particularly of the new plant amounts to 10 tons per year, which makes the total capacity including the existing Merseyside Plant up to 18 tons.

In Japan, on the other hand, they say that Ube Industries leading the domestic production completed its second plant of MO inside the premise of Ube Chemicals (located in Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) in February 2012, increasing the current capacity up to 10 times more at maximum.

The demand for metal organics (MO) is increasing as centered by TMG with the background of the growing market of TMG, LED, compound semiconductor, solar cell and mobile phone. Each manufacturer’s expansion of new facilities has been remarkable after 2010.

Owing to the inventory adjustment responding to the mass-production of LED chips starting in spring of 2011, the demand for TMG once stayed calm, but the demand for MO is beginning to get moving again with the proceeded adjustment of inventory from the first half of 2012 and the application to the general illumination. Mot probably, the competition of investment in MO will be boomed again all over the world.”