OCI Company, a South Korean chemicals manufacturing company, has celebrated commencement of production in its new sapphire manufacturing facility on March 2, 2012.
GT's ASF sapphire growth furnace
The company has purchased and installed ASF sapphire growth furnaces from GT Advanced Technologies, a global provider of sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems, polysilicon production technology, and materials for the solar, LED and other specialty markets.
The new facility is environment-friendly and it produces sapphire cores and boules. OCI also announced that it has started shipment of 6” sapphire cores and 2” and 4” sapphire products to major manufacturers in Korea and Taiwan. The plant has a capacity to produce 4 million millimeters of sapphire products per year. GT’s ASF equipment utilizes the heat exchanger method (HEM) and an economical sapphire crystallization method to increase the productivity of quality materials.
The capability of OCI to produce up to 6” LED-grade sapphire will help advance the position of the company as a major sapphire manufacturer in Korea. GT Advanced Technologies and OCI have been a long-term partner in the PV industry and now the purchase of ASF sapphire growth technology extends the partnership between the companies.
Cheryl Diuguid, VP and General Manager of GT Advanced Technologies’ Sapphire Equipment and Materials Group, stated that establishing a new sapphire manufacturing facility requires huge planning and coordination. GT Advanced Technologies’ service and installation team has worked cooperatively with the production and engineering team of OCI to launch a high-tech production facility, which is now manufacturing high-quality materials.