| Press Release *****For immediate use September 18th, 2000
NEC & Schott Glas Form Joint Venture for Global Leadership of Hermetic Seal TechnologyTOKYO September 18th, 2000- NEC Corporation (NEC) (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) (TSE: 6701) and Schott Glas (Schott) have signed an agreement to form a joint venture company, "NEC Schott Components Corporation" (NEC Schott Components), specializing in hermetic seal technology used to protect key electronic components in a diverse range of applications from car airbags to mobile phones. The new firm will commence operations from October 1, 2000 and represents both another step forward in the reorganization of NEC's group-wide structure and Schott's commitment to strengthen its position in the global market for electronic packaging. NEC currently holds seven percent of the world market for electronic packaging while Schott has an eleven percent share. Through the new joint venture and existing Schott activities outside of Japan, the companies will serve nearly one fifth of the global demand for hermetic seals and are positioned to expand even further. Initial paid-in capital will be 600 million Yen, with 51% of the joint venture firm owned by NEC and 49% owned by Schott Glas. The company, which will employ 230 people, will be headquartered at Ohtsu, Japan and is forecast to achieve 9 billion Yen in sales by the end of 2001. NEC Schott Components will use the equity raised to purchase hermetic seal production assets from the Minakuchi plant at NEC Kansai, Ltd. (NEC Kansai) and to purchase Schott's electronic packaging sales and distribution operations in Japan. The joint venture company will take over NEC's established customer relationships in Japan and integrate itself with Schott's international sales networks, to offer an integrated product portfolio focused on new and high-end product lines. The new firm will inherit strong research and development capabilities from both parent companies and work to develop new products at the joint venture, aimed at expanding its technology base, such as for new plating technology and ceramic packaging. "While the Japanese market continues as an important cornerstone of the industry, the dynamics are towards the need for global reach," said Yoichi Ushiyama, currently Senior Associate Vice President of NEC Kansai, Ltd., who will head the management team at NEC Schott Components as its President. "Our partnership with Schott will not only give both partners that global reach but bring greater innovation and efficiency that will benefit our customers and our employees," he continued. "We are integrating strong electronic packaging research, marketing and distribution capabilities through this joint venture that strengthens our position enormously in Japan and globally. And that can only spell great things ahead," added Dr. Thomas Gambke, General Manager of the Electronic Packaging Division of Schott Glas and International Director for NEC Schott Components. The formation of NEC Schott Components marks an important step in NEC's innovation of its group-wide structure as an Internet solutions provider. One key element of this strategy is to foster electron device solutions for Internet-related equipment manufacturers that promotes the creation of greater value for customers, shareholders and employees. The transfer of NEC's hermetic seal business into the new joint venture company both promotes the corporation's wider goal of providing device solutions for its customers and reorganizes the operation for growth as a world leader in its field. The new joint venture allows Schott to team up with a major player in
the Japanese market, thereby expanding the company's global research,
marketing, production and distribution capacity into one of the world's
most significant markets for this sector. Currently Schott Electronic
Packaging has production facilities in Singapore, the Czech Republic,
Germany and the United States and aims to be a leading global supplier
in the electronic packaging market. NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) (TSE:6701) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 4,991 billion Yen (approx. US$48 billion) in fiscal year 1999-2000. For further information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec-global.com About Schott Glas Schott Glas Electronic Packaging is a division of Schott Glas, which belongs to the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, a foundation. The foundation operates as a business that manages industrial concerns with social responsibility. The Schott Group is a leading international manufacturer of special glass and other advanced materials, components and systems for television, household, industrial, opto-electronics, optics, pharmaceutical packaging and tubing applications. The Schott Group operates 82 companies worldwide including 58 production sites in 20 countries. The Group employees over 18,000 people, including 10,200 in Germany, and in fiscal year 1999 enjoyed global sales of 1.5 billion Euros (ca. $ 1.5 billion). Schott Glas can be found on the Internet at: http://www.schott.de For Outline of NEC Schott Components Corporation, please see the attached sheet. ***
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