Tokyo (SCCIJ) – Switzerland may not be the first country that comes to mind in the semiconductor industry. Still, several Swiss high-tech companies are key suppliers and partners in Japan’s semiconductor market. They often emphasize shared values of precision and quality that resonate in Japan.
Early Japan entry
For example, VAT Group is marking its 60th anniversary globally and 40 years in Japan in 2025. Japan is a key market for the world’s leading producer of high-end vacuum valves, which are essential for chip and display fabrication. The Swiss company established its Japanese subsidiary VAT Japan in 1985. Over the course of four decades, VAT’s ultra-clean vacuum valves have become critical components for Japanese semiconductor equipment makers and fabs. In November 2021, VAT consolidated its Japan offices into a new hub near Tokyo’s Haneda area to strengthen local support.
Evatec AG can tell another success story. The Swiss supplier of thin-film deposition systems used in semiconductors, optoelectronics, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and photonics delivered the first equipment for optical disc manufacturing in the early 1990s. About a decade ago, Evatec forged a key partnership with Canon Marketing Japan. This win–win alliance gave Evatec “fast track” access to leading Japanese customers, especially in power electronics and wireless communication sectors. Building on that momentum, Evatec established its own subsidiary, Evatec Japan K.K., in Osaka in 2017, focusing on emerging opportunities such as advanced chip packaging and photonics.
Serving Japanese market
Japan has also been an essential market for U-blox. Based in Thalwil, this Swiss fabless semiconductor company makes Global Navigation Satellite System receivers, wireless communication chips, and IoT modules. The company founded u-blox Japan K.K. in 2007 to serve the Japanese market in automotive navigation, telematics, and IoT device sectors. By having engineering support on the ground, u-blox can collaborate on the design-in of its chips into Japanese products. As demand grew, u-blox opened a second office in Osaka in 2015.
Another example is Levitronix. The world leader in magnetically levitated, bearingless motor technology used in ultra-pure pumps and mixers for semiconductor and biotech processes incorporated its Japanese subsidiary in 2010. This step enabled Levitronix to offer local sales, support, and after-sales service for its specialized pumps, which are renowned for minimizing particle and metal contamination in chip fabrication. As business grew, Levitronix expanded further by opening a West Japan branch in Gifu in 2018.
Comet Group, headquartered in Flamatt, Switzerland, has maintained a subsidiary in Japan for over two decades. The Japanese presence of this technology leader in radio-frequency power systems and X-ray inspection began in the late 1990s through its YXLON X-ray division. The company rebranded the subsidiary founded in 1999 as Comet Technologies Japan K.K. in 2021. Today, Comet’s Yokohama office serves as a hub housing all three of Comet’s divisions under one roof. Comet completed the integration in 2024.
Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ
