| Industry | Vacuum Engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 |
| Headquarters | Crawley, England |
| Key people | Matthew Taylor,[1] (CEO) David Smith, CFO (CFO) |
| Employees | circa 3,000 (2011) |
| Website | www.edwardsvacuum.com |
Edwards (formerly BOC Edwards) is a vacuum engineering company headquartered in Crawley, in West Sussex in the United Kingdom. The company manufactures and supplies vacuum and abatement equipment used in advanced manufacturing processes.
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Edwards equipment and services business was founded by physicist, F.D. Edwards in 1919 in south London.[2] Initially the business imported vacuum equipment before commencing independent manufacturing in 1939. In 1953 the company relocated its factory and headquarters to Crawley and was later acquired by The BOC Group in 1968. This move prompted international expansion for the business, particularly across Asia.
In the electronics world, the evolution of transistors in to semiconductors meant vacuum technology became critical in generating the clean environment required for semiconductor manufacture. To meet this demand, Edwards introduced the Drystar dry (oil free) vacuum pump in 1984, which reduced the risk of contamination.[3]
In 1997 BOC Edwards was formed with the integration of Edwards vacuum business with BOC electronic gases unit before the BOC Group was itself acquired by Linde AG in 2006. Edwards subsequently became independent when it was acquired by CCMP Capital & Unitas Capital in 2007.
The company’s key manufacturing sites are in Choenan (Korea), Lutin (Czech Republic) and Clevedon (UK).[4]
The company provides equipment and services across numerous industries:
Semiconductor – manufactures vacuum and abatement equipment designed to provide clean conditions for semiconductor manufacturing processes.[5]
General Vacuum, which includes :
Scientific – supply vacuum pumps and controllers to provide a clean vacuum environment for the production of analytical instruments
Process – dry vacuum systems are used extensively in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biofuel industries.
Industrial – manufactures vacuum systems utilised across a broad spectrum of industrial applications ranging from steel degassing and metallurgy, to coating and energy production plants.
Emerging Technologies (Solar, Flat Panel & LED) – manufactures a range of pumps and abatement technology in the crystalline and thin film PV solar industries as well as for the production of flat panel screens and all forms of LED lighting including display backlighting.[6]