SEMCO Tech's Global Gambit: China Expansion & Automation Overdrive

CASTRIES, France – January 13, 2026 – Fresh off a highly successful initial public offering, French semiconductor component specialist SEMCO Technologies is executing a multi-pronged growth strategy, making decisive moves to expand its global footprint and radically increase production capacity. The company announced the launch of a new subsidiary in Tianjin, China, coupled with a major automation overhaul at its French headquarters and the appointment of a new Chief Technical Officer, signaling an aggressive push to meet the voracious global demand for advanced semiconductors.

These milestones represent the first major deliverables on the ambitious roadmap presented during its July 2025 IPO on Euronext Growth Paris. Specializing in the design and manufacture of high-performance electrostatic chucks (eChucks)—critical components that hold silicon wafers in place during the chipmaking process—SEMCO is positioning itself as a key enabler for the next generation of technology, from artificial intelligence to 5G communications.

Laurent Pélissier, CEO of SEMCO Technologies, framed the developments as a cohesive strategic execution. "The structuring of our technical teams, the acceleration of industrial ramp-up through automation, and the opening of our Chinese subsidiary are three major milestones in the execution of our roadmap," he stated in a recent announcement. "These advances strengthen our capacity for innovation, our proximity to customers, and the performance and competitiveness of our eChucks."

IPO Provides Fuel for Aggressive Expansion

The recent strategic announcements are powered by a war chest secured during SEMCO's blockbuster IPO on July 9, 2025. The offering was met with overwhelming investor enthusiasm, being oversubscribed 5.6 times and ultimately raising €46.2 million. The strong market debut valued the company at a market capitalization of €154 million, providing the financial firepower necessary to pursue its growth objectives.

Approximately 60% of the net proceeds from the new share issuance are being funneled directly into these strategic initiatives. The company's IPO prospectus laid out a clear vision: triple its industrial capacity by 2028 compared to early 2025 levels and achieve revenues exceeding €55 million by the same year, all while maintaining a robust profit margin above 40%. The current actions demonstrate a swift and decisive move to turn those investor promises into operational reality. For the fiscal year 2025, the company is already projecting a 25% growth in revenue to approximately €33 million.

A Calculated Move into China's Tech Heartland

A cornerstone of the strategy is the establishment of SEMCO Technologies Tianjin. This move into northeastern China is far more than a simple sales office; it represents a strategic industrial and commercial foothold in the heart of the world's largest and fastest-growing semiconductor market. The subsidiary is designed to provide a proactive commercial strategy and strengthen relationships with key Asian equipment manufacturers by offering localized assembly, final testing, and after-sales service.

However, in a move that addresses the geopolitical sensitivities and intellectual property risks inherent in the semiconductor industry, SEMCO is carefully balancing market access with strategic protection. While the Tianjin facility, equipped with its own clean room, will handle the assembly of eChucks on locally manufactured pedestals, the core of the company's value remains firmly planted in France. All critical expertise, high-value-added development, and foundational intellectual property will be retained at the company's main site in Montpellier. This "core-in-France" strategy allows SEMCO to leverage China's market proximity and manufacturing ecosystem without exposing its most valuable technological secrets.

Leading the technical operations in China is Jerry Peng, an engineer with over a decade of experience in semiconductor materials. His role is critical in ensuring a seamless operational link between the French and Chinese sites, translating SEMCO's exacting technical standards to the new facility while supporting growth in the strategic Asian market.

Automation Ignites a Production Revolution

While expanding geographically, SEMCO is simultaneously deepening its technological capabilities at home. The company is in the midst of an automation revolution at its Montpellier production facility. A newly commissioned automated screen-printing line has already doubled the plant's production capacity for eChucks. This is a critical advancement, as screen-printing is a delicate process that determines the intricate circuitry within the eChuck, and automating it ensures higher precision, consistency, and throughput while meeting the demanding quality standards of the industry.

This is just the first step. A second, more complex phase of automation targeting polishing operations is planned for the end of the first half of 2026. Polishing is essential for creating the perfectly flat and smooth surfaces required for advanced wafer processing. Together, these investments are on track to help SEMCO achieve its goal of tripling its industrial capacity by 2028. This surge in production is not just a corporate goal; it's a vital contribution to the global tech ecosystem, helping to alleviate supply constraints for a component that is fundamental to the world's most advanced chip fabs.

New Leadership to Steer Technological Innovation

Underpinning the physical expansion and automation is a renewed focus on human capital and innovation, solidified by the appointment of Clément Dupuy as Chief Technical Officer. An engineer specializing in materials science, Dupuy brings deep experience from his previous innovation-focused roles within SEMCO's parent company, the ECM Group.

His mission is multifaceted: to define and lead the company's long-term technology strategy, accelerate the development of next-generation eChucks capable of handling new thermal constraints and performance demands, and strengthen co-development partnerships with customers. His expertise is seen as crucial for expanding the application of SEMCO's technology, particularly in the rapidly growing fields of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)—thin-film deposition techniques at the heart of modern semiconductor fabrication. This strategic appointment ensures that as SEMCO scales its production, its technological edge continues to sharpen, keeping it ahead of the curve in a fiercely competitive market.

The integrated nature of these initiatives—IPO funding, Chinese market entry, domestic automation, and innovation leadership—paints a picture of a company in rapid, calculated motion. As the world's reliance on ever-more-powerful microchips grows, the demand for the highly specialized components required to make them is soaring. SEMCO Technologies is making a bold statement that it intends not just to participate in this boom, but to be one of the critical European players powering it.