Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Business Support Quality

The Semiconductor Company’s Customer Engineering (CE) Department provides a high level of customer responsiveness and value-added services through the Service Division and parts supply without delay through parts centers that enable customers to realize their targeted production.

Aware that it is in the position at the company closest to the customer, the department responds to various requests providing prompt and meticulous support based on the technology and experience it has cultivated. This requires specialized knowledge of products, services, and solutions that are specific to customer specifications. Therefore, in addition to acquiring knowledge about our own products and services, we also deepen our understanding through exposure to operational and system specifications at production sites, such as by conducting product tests from the customer’s perspective. We are building WIN-WIN relationships by providing a level of support that lead to customer satisfaction along with a sense of empathy.

The Tokyo Seimitsu Group currently supplies maintenance parts to customers in approximately 27 countries around the world. In fiscal 2025, to avoid the supply risk of long lead items, we reviewed the consignment inventories at our overseas subsidiaries in Korea, China, Singapore, and the U.S. and increased them by 5.5%. Given the recent geopolitical concerns, we had repeated discussions with the supplier regarding the stable supply of the key materials (synthetic diamond) for our grindstone products. As a result, we have confirmed that the current supply system can provide enough materials to sustain our immediate operations. We will keep monitoring the status of our supply of parts.

The Semiconductor Company’s Customer Engineering (CE) Department is required to have a high level of expertise so that it can respond to various customer issues. In order to continue to provide high-quality support, in addition to helping employees acquire qualifications and offering special training, the CE Department is also helping to standardize work levels (accuracy, operation assurance, knowledge, etc.) by conducting training for young engineers and leadership training. In addition, skill sheets are used to clarify the status of employees’ acquisition of knowledge and skills, which is useful for human resource development.

Practical individual training sessions are conducted along with initial skill tests, mainly for younger employees assigned to the Customer Engineering Dept., to help them acquire the basic knowledge and skills.

These training sessions range from classroom lectures for learning about the tools and materials to be used, types of carrying devices, and definitions of terms to textbook-based training about safe usage, examples of failure, differences in material and property, points to note, etc. Moreover, training sessions using actual equipment allow employees to acquire practical skills.

MINICOM: Tokyo Seimitsu-made length and distance measuring instrument (small electric micrometer)

The Customer Engineering Dept. engages in a wide range of work, from delivery and startup of various types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, such as dicing machines, probing machines, polish grinders, and CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarizer) devices, to repair, inspection, on-site modification, and transfer of such equipment as well as management and sale of maintenance parts.

We therefore seek to achieve flexible response and higher efficiency by promoting the development of multi-skilled engineers. Multi-skilling makes employees capable of doing multiple tasks. While acquiring multiple skills takes time, this approach brings a number of benefits including increased productivity and human resource development.

If engineers in charge of dicing machines learn to do the probing machine startup work, it not only helps these engineers upgrade their skills but also allows them to optimize customer visit schedules and reduce travel time during business trips.

In addition to startup of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, we plan to have our employees acquire periodical inspection skills as well to further improve our service quality.

Since 2013, we have held the Global Service Meeting (GSM), hosted by the GSE*, every year.

In fiscal 2025, the meeting took place at the Hachioji Plant of the head office, as well as at the Kandatsu Sub-Branch of the Tokyo CE Section, from October 28 through 31, with the participation of 47 service engineers from our overseas subsidiaries in 8 countries.

At the general meeting on the first day, we shared information about the present situation and issues of each site and discussed the parts supply system among other topics. This was followed by a master trainer development session aimed at ensuring the same level of training in every country.

As part of this session, we also conducted edge grinder training, which was a first for the Kandatsu Sub-Branch.

To promote remote support, we have implemented and enhanced online security measures and established a new dedicated smart glasses* channel at the Hachioji Plant.

We provide training not only for customers who visit our offices but also at sites around the world to provide equipment operation and maintenance training upon request.

The Customer Engineering Dept. has the lights in its office and warehouse replaced with LED lights. Also, the lights are turned off during the lunch break and some other recesses. The department is also promoting the use of eco-friendly cars, which now account for 50% of its maintenance service vehicles.