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Unaxis, formerly known as Plasma-Therm, unveils its St. Petersburg center despite the tech industry's struggles.
By JEFF HARRINGTON
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 24, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Unaxis, a maker of equipment used to make semiconductors, picked an odd time to unveil its state-of-the-art research and development center in north St. Petersburg.
The tech industry is leading the country's economic swoon. Semiconductor companies -- Unaxis' customers -- are laying off workers and slashing production. Manufacturers are delaying upgrades of their computer systems.
Even Unaxis Holding AG, the company's Switzerland parent, warned its operating profit will fall this year because of slumping semiconductor demand.
At Unaxis' St. Petersburg facility, Bob Anderson is undeterred.
"A downturn is usually good for us. . . . Manufacturers aren't building (computer chips), but everyone is looking at research to enhance their products," he said Friday. "We're sort of present at the right time."
As Unaxis vice president for operations in St. Petersburg, Anderson is charged with preparing the company's $7.2-million R&D complex for a grand opening and open house Monday.
The 48,000-square-foot center, adjacent to the company's 4-year-old headquarters building, will house about 65 of Unaxis' 225 employees in St. Petersburg and serve as the Unaxis research hub for its three U.S. locations.
Monday's festivities are more than a chance to showcase a high-tech environment, munch on hors d'oeuvres and listen to Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Rocks Beach, chat about the region's high-tech potential. It's a coming-out party, of sorts, for Unaxis.
In local circles, Unaxis is better known by its old name: Plasma-Therm.
Founded in 1975, Plasma-Therm swelled into a $50-million company by leveraging a highly sophisticated process using plasma, an electrically neutral ionized gas. The company used plasma in a bonding process in the machines it sold to makers of semiconductors and flat-panel displays such as the screens used in laptop computers.
The market for Plasma-Therm's equipment was propelled by the personal computer industry and, in more recent years, telecommunications.
Its steady growth ended abruptly in 1998 with an economic downturn in Asia that depressed semiconductor sales. Plasma-Therm turned to layoffs and began looking for a buyer.
Oerlikon-Buhrle Holding AG, a Zurich company with a similar technological bent, agreed to pay $150-million for Plasma-Therm in late 1999. Oerlikon-Buhrle, one of the oldest Swiss conglomerates, sold its shoes and weapons businesses to focus strictly on high-tech. Refashioned into Switzerland's largest information technology company, the company renamed itself Unaxis last year.
In Plasma-Therm's 1999 fiscal year, its final report as a public company, the company lost $762,000 on sales of $40.6-million. Anderson will not divulge current revenues since Unaxis does not break down financial results by region. But Anderson said the old Plasma-Therm operation posted "much better" numbers in 2000 and is on pace to stay flat this year.
Times may be tough, he said, but unlike much of the rest of the industry, the company isn't planning layoffs.
Ron and Scott Defarrari, the father-son duo who ran Plasma-Therm, left the company after the purchase was completed. A few reminders of them are still lying around. In the company lobby Friday were two magazines: a 2-year-old Florida Trend and a 2-year-old Fortune, both with the Defarraris' names on the subscriptions.
The old reading materials are deceptive; Unaxis clearly hasn't been sitting on its semiconductors, as its new R&D center illustrates.
In construction before the Oerlikon buyout, the center gives Unaxis 10 times more room for research and testing than its current facility.
The centerpiece is a 6,800-square-foot "clean room" kept as particle-free as possible in order to manipulate semiconductor chips without damaging them. The clean room is at "Class 100" cleanliness. In other words, there are no more than 100 small particles per cubic foot of air. A grated ceiling and floor act as a constant filter to help maintain the dust-free environment.
To enter, visitors have to don blue surgical garb from head to toe, including face masks, gloves and protective covering over their shoes. "I do this 10, 20, 30 times a day," clean room manager Lee Heckerd said as he whisked through the procedure.
Inside are an array of scanning electron microscopes and other tools used to measure, inspect and manipulate semiconductor wafers. The lab is used not only to design the next generation of machines but to convince clients such as Motorola, IBM and Intel that Unaxis offers them the best technology for their money.
"Customers can come in and kick the tires," Heckerd said.
- Information from Times files was used in this report. Jeff Harrington can be reached at harrington@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3407.