Rogers Corporation and Hitachi Chemical Establish Strategic Collaboration Agreement

Rogers Corporation (NYSE: ROG) (Rogers) and Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. (TSE: 4217) (Hitachi Chemical) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement (Agreement) to expand global adoption and improve customer support of printed circuit board (PCB) materials for use in high speed digital (HSD) applications. The Agreement enables Rogers and Hitachi Chemical the ability to provide customers with a wider range of products, faster delivery, and enhanced technical support to meet rapidly growing material demand driven by HSD applications, which include high speed server, router, and telecommunication devices operating at speeds greater than 1Gb/s, for use in internet data and video transmission services.

The Agreement evolved from a previous agreement established in December, 2008 between the two companies to trade products and market them under their own brand names for wider product lineup and sales expansion. Under the terms of the new Agreement, Rogers is granted exclusive rights to manufacture laminates using prepregs (prepreg is the intermediate material of PCB material consisting of impregnating glass cloth with thermosetting resin) supplied by Hitachi Chemical, and to exclusively distribute these HSD PCB products to customers other than those reserved by Hitachi Chemical. The Agreement enables Rogers to offer a broader variety of high performance circuit materials, and allows Hitachi Chemical to increase sales and accelerate market adoption of its high technology products through Rogers’ worldwide sales network. The companies will also work to jointly develop new HSD PCB materials for future applications.

The initial focus of this collaboration is to expand the global adoption of Hitachi Chemical’s mid-loss halogen-free HSD PCB materials, MCL-HE-679G, concurrently offered to the HSD market by Rogers under the THETA® circuit materials co-brand. Rogers will also work on expanding the global market adoption of Hitachi Chemical’s low-transmission loss HSD PCB materials, MCL-FX-2 laminate and GFA-2 prepregs.

Mike Bessette, Senior Vice President of Rogers Advanced Circuit Materials Division, commented “Rogers is very excited about strengthening our partnership with Hitachi Chemical. Our combined strengths in global manufacturing, new product development, and customer support provide a compelling High Speed Digital printed circuit material solution for our customers worldwide. Together, our companies offer a competitive value proposition to our customers in the wired infrastructure market segment.”

Misao Nakagawa, Executive Officer, General Manager of Hitachi Chemical’s Printed Wiring Board Materials Business Sector, commented “Hitachi Chemical is looking forward to establishing an excellent support system in manufacturing, product development and customer service in the HSD market through this agreement. This collaboration capitalizes on both companies’ strength in High Speed Digital printed wiring board material solutions. We can further maximize our value by offering a comprehensive product and support solution to our customers and be recognized as leaders in the market by working together.”

Rogers Corporation
www.rogerscorp.com

Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.
www.hitachi-chem.co.jp/english/index.html

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