SEC/N Thoughts

Thanks to technological advances in communications and transportation, the geographic boundaries between countries are virtually disappearing.

The islands of Japan have nurtured cultural ideals and traditions that go back thousands of years. However, evolutionary changes in international trade continue to challenge traditional ways of Japanese thinking.

Until recently, the Japanese electronics industry, in general, did not positively embrace the purchase and sale of used equipment. Electronics manufacturers often destroyed their surplus equipment to keep their Japanese competitors from gaining any perceived edge. At the same time, OEMs were vigorously striving to control the resale of their equipment in the secondary market. But all that has started to change.

Over the past few years, Japanese semiconductor manufacturers have been actively selling and buying used equipment. This can be primarily attributed to:

• Once plentiful sources of capital are rapidly drying up.
• The evolution and acceptance of used equipment in the international marketplace.
• Necessary changes in OEM thinking.
• More cultural acceptance for competitors jointly addressing areas of common interest.

An upcoming SEMICON Japan seminar on used equipment, co-sponsored by SEC/N's Japan Regional Council and SEMI Japan, is an excellent example of the ecumenical progress being made.

Representatives from both JEITA (Japan Electronics & Information Technology Industries Association) and the SEAJ (Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan) are planning to participate. To further underscore the ever-evolving dynamics of the international marketplace, the SEMATECH Surplus Equipment Council also plans to be represented.

The seminar is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 5 at a hotel site adjacent to the SEMICON Japan 2002 show.