PHOENIX, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc., leading suppliers of advanced materials to the global solar panel, semiconductor and plastics industries, have earned a supplier excellence award from one of the world's largest microelectronics manufacturers. Sumitomo Chemical and Sumika earned the award on the strength of their product quality and reliable on-time delivery over the past year.

Sumika Electronic Materials will be exhibiting in booth #9229 in West Hall at the Intersolar North America Exhibition and Conference at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Calif., on July 14-16.

"This award, presented after our customer's rigorous evaluation process over several months, validates the high product quality, process repeatability and continuous customer service that we deliver," said Masakazu Tokura, director and senior managing executive officer for the IT-related Chemicals Sector of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

Among the products offered by Sumika for the worldwide solar market are GaAs-based epitaxial wafers. These materials enable volume production of a variety of end products including high-efficiency solar cells, cell phone power amplifiers and LEDs.

"Sumika is currently working with several development partners in the production of high-efficiency solar cells. Our intent is to use our epitaxial core competencies established over the years to produce and supply GaAs- and germanium-based wafers to these partners," said Kevin Beck, president of Sumika.

About Sumitomo Chemical

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. is one of Japan's leading chemical companies, offering a diverse range of products globally in the fields of basic chemicals, petrochemicals, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and IT-related chemicals and materials. The IT-Related Chemicals Sector includes the company's Semiconductor Process Materials Division, the Optical Materials Division, and the Electronic Materials Division, serving the solar energy and plastics markets. Sumitomo Chemical's consolidated net sales for fiscal 2008 were US$18.9 billion (JPY1.9 trillion). For additional information, visit the company's website at www.sumitomo-chem.co.jp/english/

About Sumika Electronic Materials

Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc., a solely owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical, distributes IT-related chemicals and engineering plastics to the NAFTA region as well as producing epitaxial wafers at its facility in Phoenix, Arizona.

SOURCE Sumika Electronic Materials, Inc.