Taiwan's Grand Pacific Petrochemical expands into semiconductor materials

台灣大東海石化跨足半導體材料領域

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp. is expanding into the semiconductor materials sector.

The petrochemical supplier on Tuesday announced a joint investment with Japan’s Air Water Inc. in semiconductor specialty gas maker Hong-Kuang Hi-Tech Corp. The two companies will each acquire a 35% stake in Hong-Kuang, making them its largest shareholders, according to CTEE and UDN Money.

AWI specializes in industrial gases, as well as related equipment and engineering services. Its products and services are used in the semiconductor, energy, and healthcare industries.

Hong-Kuang produces, sells, and analyzes high-purity electronic-grade specialty gases. Its product lineup includes fluorocarbon gases, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and fluorine-nitrogen mixtures used in chip manufacturing.

Specialty gases play a critical role in semiconductor manufacturing, where trace impurities can affect production processes and chip quality. Suppliers therefore need to meet strict requirements while ensuring the gases can be safely stored and transported, according to CMoney.

As advanced chip production remains concentrated in Taiwan, manufacturers increasingly need reliable local suppliers and logistics services. This has created opportunities for petrochemical companies to apply their chemical expertise to higher-value semiconductor materials.

In addition to its specialty gas investment, Grand Pacific has acquired a 23.4% stake in I-Trans Express Co. I-Trans is a hazardous materials logistics provider primarily serving semiconductor materials suppliers.