SUMITOMO BAKELITE is focusing their business activities on such fields as information and communications, highly functional plastics, and quality of life (QOL), while actively promoting their globalization at the same time.
Technology innovations are spreading rapidly within these fields, and it is essential for the expansion and development of business to strengthen exploring as well expediting capabilities of R&D.
Under these circumstances and from the following reasons we determined to acquire
Goodrich's Electronic Materials Division:

1. The Electronic Materials Division's Research and Development Section (a research laboratory) is working for the development of resins distinctively specialized for use in the electronics and opto-electronics fields, which coincide with our focusing lines.

2. By addition of the Division to a number of our existing research organizations and laboratories synergetic effects are expected to enhancement of R&D efficiencies including speed-up.

3. From the viewpoint of further globalization of the business also, by locating a research site in the US where R&D of the cutting-edge technologies of the relevant fields are most rapidly advancing in a furious competition, we expect that thus enhanced R&D capabilities will surely contribute towards further strengthening our activities in the information and communications industries.