Made in the Mid-Willamette Valley

Fujimi Corporation is a manufacturer of fine powder abrasives, polishes and slurries for industries including semiconductors, solar, electronics, and optics. Drawing on its precision grinding and grading technologies, and chemical formulation experience, the company offers products for polishing silicon wafers and other semiconductor substrates, as well as chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) products required for multilayered circuits on semiconductor chips, and abrasives and slurries for producing computer hard disks. Recently, the company has expanded into new fields, commercializing products for cermet (ceramic metallic composite) thermal and plasma spray materials with dramatically improved impact resistance. Fujimi Corporation also conducts research in abrasive recycling and conversion of abrasives into energy saving materials as well as understanding its role in reducing CO2 and conserving energy. Fujimi Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujimi Incorporated in Nagoya, Japan, and operates two facilities in Tualatin and Wilsonville.

Business history: Fujimi Incorporated (originally Fujimi Abrasives) was founded in Nagoya, Japan, and started production of synthetic precision abrasives in 1950. In 1994, Fujimi America Inc. started as a manufacturing facility in Wilsonville. Fujimi America Inc. (manufacturing organization) and Fujimi Corporation (sales organization) merged under the name Fujimi Corporation in 2003. This year, Fujimi Corporation opened the New Business Development group focusing on utilizing the company's core competencies to expand new product offerings.

Business Specialties: Fujimi Corporation is focused on producing lapping abrasives for silicon wafer polishing and glass products and polishing compounds and slurries for CMP. We have expertise in wet classification, milling, dispersion technologies, colloidal science, formulation of slurries and manufacturing to the standards of the high technology industry.

What is biggest advantage of doing business in the Mid-Willamette Valley? The strategic location for a company doing business within high tech should be selected based on location to the customer, local expertise in science and manufacturing, and cost. The Willamette Valley sits in the heart of the Silicon Forest, offers a pool of scientists who enjoy living in the area and is more affordable than other parts of the country.

The best way to stay competitive: We believe that the best way to stay competitive is by offering consistently high quality products through efficient manufacturing, R&D support, and exceeding our customers' expectations.

What is most challenging in work? The most challenging aspect of our work is keeping pace with the changing demands of the market place and our customers. While our customers may change their requirements, they still expect us to provide the same high standard and consistent quality, which Fujimi is known for. As products become commoditized and the market is flooded by cheaper offerings from abroad, Fujimi focuses on creating value. As a result, the company created the New Business Development (NBD) group. NBD is dedicated to investing new opportunities that are unique to Fujimi's expertise.

What trends do you see happening in your industry? The global abrasives market is greatly influenced by economic and technological trends across the regions of the world. For example, the U.S. market for manufactured abrasives such as silicon carbide mainly hinges upon the demand from the manufacturing activities in the aerospace, steel, automotive, housing and furniture industries. With China emerging as a prominent player in silicon carbide and fused aluminum oxide, Europe and North America are expected to witness declines in abrasives production over the next few years. On the upside, Fujimi has facilities and expertise to support a range of new products and applications from OEM and contract manufacturing to generating IP and conducting core research.