The first will see Johnson Matthey establishing a new 100,000 square foot facility, near its existing operations in Washington State, to supply thermal management products to the semiconductor industry. As silicon chips become smaller and more powerful, the management of the heat they produce is becoming a critical issue for the industry and has given renewed impetus to this important sector of the materials market. The new plant will be fully operational in the spring of 1998.

In the second investment , JM is to open a facility in Taiwan to supply sputtering targets, ultra high purity metal fabrications used to deposit thin films of material in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Taiwan is currently the world's fastest growing producer of semiconductors, with annual investment in the industry running at around $3bn. The new facility will be located in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan's Silicon Valley, and will convert materials imported from Johnson Matthey's US facilities into finished products tailored to the requirements of individual local customers.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Mike Cleare, Managing Director of the Electronic Materials Division, said: "Our strategy is to provide the worldwide semiconductor industry with a full range of high-tech materials. These two new facilities are further steps towards that goal."

Chris Clark, Johnson Matthey's Chief Operating Officer added: "We are already the market leader in sputtering targets and this new facility will give us local presence in Taiwan to further strengthen our position.