For Subscribers

Get the complete article now!

TWST: Can we start with an overview of STEAG HamaTech (Xtra: DVDG.DE) and an update on your core activities?

Mr. Eppinger: STEAG HamaTech is a producer of equipment for the optical disk industry and for the semiconductor industry. About 80% of our revenues come from the optical disk industries and our main customers are located in Asia, but we also have important customers in Europe. On the semiconductor side, the main customers are worldwide -- the US, Europe, and Asia.

TWST: Are there basic manufacturing synergies for the two divisions?

Mr. Eppinger: While the customers are definitely different, there are synergies on the manufacturing side.

TWST: How would you describe recent performance in the optical disk industry?

Mr. Eppinger: On the optical disk side, which, as I mentioned, represents 80% of the revenues, we had a positive year, volume-wise. The demand was higher than anticipated, especially driven by CDR and DVD-R equipment. More and more personal computers are equipped with a CD-writers or, nowadays, DVD writers, and this drives up the demand for the media.

TWST: How large is that market?

Mr. Eppinger: The equipment market is around €600 to €700 million.

TWST: What is your market position?

Mr. Eppinger: The overall market is divided into two segments. One is called the recordable segments, for the recordable media, which are the blank media. The other segment is the pre-recorded media, which is a CD with music or software on it, or a DVD with a movie on it. Both segments are roughly €300 million. We are the market leader on the recordable side, while we have a smaller share on the pre-recorded side.

TWST: What are your main competitive advantages?

Mr. Eppinger: Our core competence is the lacquering, i.e. bringing the lacquer on the disk, which is needed on the recordable side.

TWST: What about on the semiconductor side? How would you describe market conditions there at the moment?

Mr. Eppinger: So far we have been providing equipment to the photo-mask producers such as DuPont and Photronics, but also to the big semiconductor producers like IBM and Intel. Definitely the demand at the moment is rather slow, particularly in the US. However, if you look to Asia, demand is certainly growing there.

TWST: Are you expanding your product offering?

Mr. Eppinger: Yes, we are currently in the process of bringing new product to the market. These products target other applications such as bumping, which is the process of bringing the chip and its body together. Our core technologies are lacquering, backing and resisting. By adapting technology to the needs of other markets we should be able to expand our portfolio and customer reach.

TWST: So this shift into new markets wouldn’t necessarily involve a major expenditure then?

Mr. Eppinger: Right, because we already have the technology in-house. We just have to adapt this technology to the new market segment.

TWST: Can you provide an insight into your approach and focus on R&D?

Mr. Eppinger: It is very important to us. We have about 30% of our people working in R&D, and R&D expenditure is somewhere between 7% and 8% of the total revenue per annum.

TWST: What is your strategy and direction for the next 12 to 24 months?

Mr. Eppinger: On the optical disk side, it is definitely the new form of DVD-R. This is the fastest growing format of all the optical disk formats as we see more and more PCs equipped with a DVD-writer. The demand from the movie side is also growing with the recorders for TV and movies. Just as we were the market leader for the CDR disk, we are also trying to establish ourselves as the leader for the DVD-R segment. On the semiconductor side, as I outlined before, we are trying to adapt our technologies to new markets, like bumping, communications, and MEMs.