Tokyo Electron Limited, mostly known as TEL was founded in 1963. The company then was established as Tokyo Electron Laboratories. Present day TEL is based on Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The founder of the company is Tokuo Kubo. TEL currently serves Japan, China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, North America, and Europe. Tokyo Electron Group has many subsidiaries which include TEL as well.
In the semiconductor industry, TEL is involved in producing Semiconductor Production Equipment (SPE) for thermal processing, photoresist development, wet surface preparation, material doping, wafer probing, etc. TEL invests a hefty amount in the research and development cell of the company. Some of the company’s leading technology and development centers are situated in Nirasaki, Sendai, Albany, etc. Let’s have a detailed look at the journey of TEL and milestones received in these 57 years.
The Early Age of Tokyo Electron
The company was founded in 1963 as Tokyo Electronic Laboratories with a capital amount of 5 million yen. It was established as an affiliate of the Tokyo Broadcasting System. At this time TEL dealt with the sales and delivery of diffusion furnaces, leak detectors, and IC production systems. After one year of its establishment, it started selling diffusion furnaces manufactured by Thermo Products Corp. In the following years, TEL came into partnership with Fairchild Semiconductor Corp, established Pan Electron Inc, and opened many new branches of the company.
In the 1970s, many new subsidiaries of TEL were established like TEL Engineering Inc, TEL America, Tokyo Process Development Inc, etc. In 1973, TEL opened its first European office and in the following year, it received an award from Fairchild Semiconductor Corp as TEL expanded the sales of their IC testers. Till now the company was involved in the production and export of consumer electronic goods but in 1975 TEL withdrew from it. In 1978, the company was renamed Tokyo Electron Limited and established Japan’s first IC test center.
Growth and Expansion
The next decade started with TEL receiving the Noda Institute of Economic Research Excellence Management Award and getting listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1982, the company established Central Research Laboratory and a few new subsidiaries in Japan. From 1983 the company was in the number 4 position in Nikkei Excellent Companies Ranking for three consecutive years. After a year TEL was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and by the end of the decade, it was among the top companies in terms of sales in the semiconductor industry.
In the next ten years, many more subsidiaries of the company were developed such as Tokyo Electron Device Ltd, Tokyo Electron Saga Ltd, etc. In 1994, the company shipped its first single-wafer CVD system. The company expanded its many subsidiaries in Massachusetts, Phoenix, Texas, Arizona, Israeli, etc. In 1999, TEL received the Annual Award for Excellence in Disclosure from Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Digital Era
With the advent of the digital era, TEL formulated its new corporate message as “People. Technology. Commitments. ” TEL acquired Supercritical Systems Inc and Timbre Technologies Inc in 2000 and 2001 respectively. In 2003, TEL received the Prime Minister’s award for its excellent contribution to Industry-Academia-Government collaboration. In 2008, TEL received the Intellectual Property Achievement Award. Next year, the company entered a new sector of photovoltaic production business after acquiring Swiss Oerlikon Solar.
In 2011, Tokyo Electron Scholarship was launched at Peking University. The same year TEL was named as one of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2014, the company’s single wafer cleaning system, CELLESTA won “Semiconductor of the year 2014.” In 2018, the company made it into the list of Top 100 Global Tech Leaders by Thomson Reuters. Last year, the company was recognized as “Most Honored Company” in the All-Japan Executive Team Rankings for five years in succession.
CEO of Tokyo Electron
Tetsuro Higashi has been working at Tokyo Electron for 42 years from 1977 to 2019. He contributed immensely in TEL and for his vivid contributions in both TEL and the semiconductor industry, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star Award in the 2020 Spring Conferment of Decorations. The position of Tetsuro Higashi in TEL was offered to Toshiki Kawai as he became the President and CEO of TEL in 2016.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more