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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallUnaxis was the name adopted in 2000 by Swiss Oerlikon-Bührle as it shifted toward technology businesses. It tried to assemble a broad semiconductor-equipment operation through acquisitions and in-house product lines, spanning wafer processing, chip packaging, compound semiconductors and telecom components. The strategy did not make Unaxis a lasting independent chip-equipment vendor: the company was renamed OC Oerlikon in 2006, after semiconductor-equipment losses and a takeover contest.
What was Unaxis?
Unaxis was a Swiss industrial and technology group, not a single-purpose chip-tool maker. Its semiconductor push was part of a wider portfolio that included data storage, coatings, vacuum solutions, display technology, components and special systems. The company’s stated ambition was to build capability across several parts of semiconductor manufacturing rather than compete head-on in every high-volume process market.
In 2000, Unaxis launched a U.S.-based semiconductor business group around its $150 million acquisition of Plasma-Therm, according to EE Times. The new unit covered deposition, etch, materials and thin-film packages, and Unaxis said it began with annual revenue of about $200 million. Those figures describe the launch-era business as reported in 2000, not a current company or product line.
What semiconductor equipment and technologies did it offer?
Unaxis pursued both front-end wafer processing and back-end assembly and packaging, alongside specialized applications. The distinction matters: front-end tools process wafers to form device structures, while back-end equipment handles tasks such as attaching and connecting chips in packages.
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| Area | Unaxis offering or capability | Strategic place in the business |
|---|---|---|
| Front-end wafer processing | Deposition and dry-etch systems, including capabilities brought in through Plasma-Therm | Gave the group process-tool coverage without centering its strategy on mainstream DRAM production. |
| Back-end assembly and packaging | Die bonding, wire bonding, packaging automation and flip-chip systems through ESEC | Supported Unaxis’s emphasis on advanced packaging and thin-wafer capabilities. |
| Specialized process and materials applications | Thin-film technology, photomask etch, compound-semiconductor production and telecom-related equipment | Extended the portfolio into focused markets beyond conventional silicon chip production. |
One specific photomask product was the Mask Etcher III. Unaxis described its system as using a “true third-generation ICP source” for uniform critical-dimension control. Michael Archuletta, director of the company’s Photomask Business Unit, said it targeted production nodes below 0.13 micron; this was a company product claim, not an independently established performance comparison.
Why did Unaxis acquire Plasma-Therm, ESEC and SPTec?
Plasma-Therm: add process tools
The $150 million Plasma-Therm purchase gave Unaxis a U.S.-based platform for deposition, etch, materials and thin-film packages. The new semiconductor group was reported to have about $200 million in annual revenue at its start, according to EE Times in 2000.
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ESEC: add packaging equipment
Unaxis planned to take a majority stake in Swiss packaging-equipment supplier ESEC. ESEC had reported revenue of 447.9 million Swiss francs and net income of 51.4 million Swiss francs for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2000, figures reported by EE Times. ESEC’s product range later became Unaxis’s Assembly & Packaging Division in the 2004 reorganization.
The choice fit Unaxis’s preference for specialized growth areas over crowded, mature segments. Heinz Kundert, then Unaxis COO and head of its Information Technology Division, said: “We are not too interested in completing in the mainstream chip manufacturing technologies, such as DRAM production, because it is a mature segment with few players.” He said the group was looking instead at advanced packaging, thin-wafer capabilities and other high-growth segments where it believed it had strengths.
SPTec: extend into compound semiconductors and telecom
In 2001, Unaxis acquired Switzerland’s Signal Processing Technologies SA, or SPTec. The operation became Unaxis SPTec and was intended to add compound-semiconductor and telecom production capabilities, including thin-film technology for surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters. Martin Bader, executive vice president and head of Unaxis Semiconductors, called the acquisition a step toward becoming a “one-stop solutions provider” in telecom production equipment.
How large was Unaxis’s chip-equipment business?
A 2001 European supplier ranking by VLSI Research, as reported by EDN, placed Unaxis third among Europe-based chip-equipment companies. The reported figures were $273.0 million in revenue and 15.4% growth for that ranking; they are a historical industry comparison, not a current market position.
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That ranking sat alongside signs of how exposed the business was to a downturn. Unaxis reported a net profit of SFr111 million for 2001, then a loss of SFr39 million for 2002. Sales in 2002 fell 21% to SFr1.43 billion. Swissinfo attributed the loss to a slump in information-technology demand. These are group-level results, not figures for the semiconductor division alone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did the strategy struggle?
Unaxis was trying to expand across a wide range of markets through acquisitions while relying on technology areas it believed offered stronger prospects than mainstream DRAM. That created breadth, but breadth alone did not protect the group from weak demand. The 2002 group loss and sales decline show the pressure of the IT downturn; by 2005, Swissinfo was still reporting losses in semiconductor equipment even as thin-film and vacuum technology remained profitable.
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The contrast suggests that the company’s technologies did not all perform alike through the cycle. The available reporting establishes continuing semiconductor-equipment losses alongside profitable adjacent businesses, but does not establish one single cause for the division’s difficulties or quantify the contribution of each acquisition.
How did Unaxis become Oerlikon?
Unaxis reorganized its chip-equipment activities in 2004 into Wafer Processing, Assembly & Packaging, and Display Technology. The wider portfolio at the time also included Semiconductor Equipment, Data Storage Solutions, Coating Services, Vacuum Solutions, and Components and Special Systems, according to the company’s official history.
In 2005, the Austrian Victory group won the takeover contest, according to Swissinfo. The following year, the company adopted the OC Oerlikon name. That change is why Unaxis should be treated as the historical name of a former corporate identity, not described as a current standalone chip-equipment supplier.
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