Here, we will try to answer some of the frequently asked questions about Noah.
If you have a question not answered here or a request, please use the "Contact Us" form.
- What is the origin of the company name "Noah"?
- When was Noah founded?
- What is your major business?
- What is the background of your employees?
- hat offices do you have other than the headquarters?
- Are you currently recruiting employees?
- How can we request materials or additional information?
- What is the pleasure that you find from working at Noah?
- What products do you sell, and who are their manufacturers?
- What kind of systems do you plan to market?
- We understand that your support system covers startup, installation, and adjustment at delivery of each product as well as preventive maintenance, repair, and supply of spare parts. Is that correct?
- Can we use an operating lease program when purchasing your product?
- Can you demonstrate your products for us?
- When did you start representing Mattson Technology as a domestic sales agent?
- What is Noah?s relationship with Mattson Technology?
- What do you mean when you say you sell "used equipment and parts"?
- How Noah is different from other used equipment companies?
- What manufacturers and products do you handle?
- Please explain about the manufacturer?s warranty.
- Can you guarantee buy-back?
- How do you provide after-purchase or on-delivery support?
- Please tell us about your maintenance support program.
- Please tell us about your Asian Taskforce.
- Can you find us a system that is not listed on your website page?
- Would Noah be able to build an entire production line for us?
- What kind of services does Noah offer?
- Could you tell us more about your maintenance contract services?
- What about outsourcing?
- How about your third party business?
- Could you tell us about your record in contract services so far?
- We'd like to know more about the conditions of your engineer dispatch.
- Could you tell us about your dispatch record so far?
- Where do you get your dispatch employees?
- Please tell us about the training your engineers get.
- Could you tell us about how you select partner companies?
- What is the origin of the company name "Noah"?
- t comes from Noah's Ark (a world-famous story described in chapters 6 through 10 of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible). We were impressed by the tale that Noah survived the flooding of the earth and established a new world. We named our company "Noah" because we wish to survive in the semiconductor industry, in which rapid changes and reformation are common, and create a new business world.
- What is your major business?
- Since its foundation, Noah's major business has been the buying and selling of used equipment, such as wafer inspection systems. In addition, the ashing systems manufactured by Mattson Technology of the US, which we started selling in the beginning of 2003, has grown to the next major business. We also plan expansion, later this fiscal year, of Business Unit 3, which provides outsourced maintenance services.
- What is the background of your employees?
- Both our sales and engineering staffs are experts who have been involved in the businesses of semiconductor manufacturing and inspection systems. In particular, three employees have experience in semiconductor manufacturing processes. All our employees have rich experience and solid accomplishments that enable them to discuss what is best, not only from the viewpoint of the equipment supplier but also from the viewpoint of customers (or processes).
- What offices do you have other than the headquarters?
- Noah has an Osaka Sales Branch and a US Office (in California) as the sales bases, as well as a Fukuoka Service Center, a Suginami Technical Center (in which demonstration systems are installed), and a Fuchu Stock Center (in which used equipment and spare parts required for maintenance are stocked).
- Are you currently recruiting employees?
- We at Noah are always looking for excellent talents in a wide range of fields, including sales engineers, service engineers, and marketing staff. If you have experience and are interested in working for Noah, please contact our Personnel Division.
- What is the pleasure that you find from working at Noah?
- Each employee works on his or her job in responsible manner by finding or creating his or her own position in the company. In addition, management of the company is open to all employees. We are all aiming at reaching the same goal: that is, the success of our customers, and the success of Noah.
- What products do you sell, and who are their manufacturers?
- We started by selling mainly analytical systems, such as emission microscopes of US-based Hypervision Inc., the ARC film vapor deposition system of US-based CVI, and SEM/TEM sample preparation systems of Israel-based SELA Inc. Then, we added the GEM software "CIM300 series" of US-based Cimetrix Inc. to our lineup. For wafer process equipment, we have also started selling the ashing systems of US-based Mattson Technology, Inc., as well as wafer handling robots and related products manufactured by Korea-based IRAM Tech, Inc., as their domestic sales agent.
- What kind of systems do you plan to market?
- For wafer processing equipment, we have just started selling the "Mini Spinner MS-211" coater/developer systems manufactured by Korea-based Opt Finetech Co., Ltd. For measurement systems, we have started selling the "INSPECTRA series" wafer defect inspection systems and "SP-500 series" step measurement systems manufactured by Toray Engineering Co., Ltd. Noah's experienced sales and process staff are well versed in semiconductor equipment; we are always pioneering new and attractive products by completing a business system that allows us to meet our customers' needs in a timely manner.
- We understand that your support system covers startup, installation, and adjustment at delivery of each product as well as preventive maintenance, repair, and supply of spare parts. Is that correct?
- Yes, for all products other than the ashing systems of Mattson Technology, the engineering staff at Noah will provide all of the technical support services that you may require.
- Can we use an operating lease program when purchasing your product?
- Yes. Noah provides an operating lease program in cooperation with major leasing companies. The teamwork among an equipment supplier, Noah, and a leasing company that this program allows will enable you to minimize your equipment cost.
- Can you demonstrate your products for us?
- At our Suginami Technical Center, we are ready to demonstrate the sample "ChipUnZip" polishing system manufactured by Hypervision Inc. and the SEM/TEM sample preparation system manufactured by Sela Ltd.
- When did you start representing Mattson Technology as a domestic sales agent?
- We started selling the Aspen 2 and Aspen 3 ashing systems manufactured by Mattson Technology on January 1, 2003.
- What is Noah's relationship with Mattson Technology?
- Noah functions as a sales organization for the ashing systems, while Mattson Technology Japan provides process and maintenance support for the system users. The joint team of Noah and Mattson Technology Japan ensures a new, reliable system for Japanese users.
- What do you mean when you say you sell "used equipment and parts"?
- By "used" equipment, we mean the surplus equipment that is generated when a device manufacturer replaces an older model of equipment with a new one, closes a production line for some reason, or replaces evaluation equipment with a new unit. By "parts," we mean those parts that have been removed from used equipment, or those manufactured by so-called second sources (other than their original manufacturers).
- How Noah is different from other used equipment companies?
- All the staff at Noah come from semiconductor equipment manufacturers, so we are ready to provide consulting and make proposals fully backed by their experience and accomplishments. For example, we can judge if the equipment requested by a user is optimum for the intended process; if it is not, we can recommend other, more appropriate equipment.
- What manufacturers and products do you handle?
- We basically deal with systems from all the major equipment manufacturers. In cooperation with some of these manufacturers, we are able to deliver their systems in conjunction with a start-up service package or a guarantee of specifications that are equivalent to a new system.
- Please explain about the manufacturer's warranty.
- Some of the systems that we sell can be provided with a manufacturer?s warranty for half-year or full year. In general, this warranty is equivalent to the warranty provided for a new system, and it covers the entire cost of parts and labor during the warranty period.
- Can you guarantee buy-back?
- If you choose Noah's operating lease option, you can select to either switch to new equipment or ask Noah to resell the equipment in the used equipment market at the expiration of the lease. Our operating lease option allows you to make up a lease program at a price from which the remaining value is subtracted from the beginning, thus allowing reduction of the fixed monthly payment (to be handled as a monthly expense). The operating lease program has become a popular option.
- How do you provide after-purchase or on-delivery support?
- For used equipment, we offer a variety of sales systems, ranging from as-is/on-site sale to a packaged sale that includes transportation costs. The sales terms may vary depending on how cooperative each manufacturer chooses to be. However, we are sure that Noah can offer a sales system that will satisfy your needs, so please don?t hesitate to contact us.
- Please tell us about your maintenance support program.
- The maintenance support program that we can offer varies among equipment manufacturers. At present, the number of third-party service companies founded by service engineers who have spun off from equipment companies has increased, so that non-manufacturer support organizations have become popular. We at Noah can propose a variety of maintenance support programs according to your needs, so please don't hesitate to contact us.
- Please tell us about your Asian Taskforce.
- Noah has formed a team we call our Asian Taskforce. The goal of the team is to pioneer the used equipment market in major Asian countries, such as Taiwan, China, and Korea. This Asian Taskforce researches the used equipment market in each country to understand the needs and characteristics specific to the country, with the aim of providing used equipment that closely matches customer needs. At present, to better accomplish this mission, we are working on establishing a collaboration system by networking with partner companies in Asian countries.
- Can you find us a system that is not listed on your website page?
- Yes. Noah will always respond to your needs. We can, for example, purchase a system directly from a US device manufacturer via our US office, thus allowing us to sell you the system at a reasonable price by minimizing the middleman margin. Please contact us with your specific needs.
- Would Noah be able to build an entire production line for us?
- Yes. We can purchase the entire production line for you, if it processes 6-inch or 8-inch wafers. In the US, entire production lines frequently become available. So, if the timing is right, you could build a ready-to-use production line through "one-stop shopping." Alternatively, if you wish to sell your entire production line, we at Noah are able to buy and resell all the systems of the line. Please contact us for more information.
- What kind of services does Noah offer?
- We offer maintenance contract services, engineering dispatch, service and consumable parts, as well as our company's own (third-party) businesses.
- Could you tell us more about your maintenance contract services?
- This refers to partial or full maintenance work for equipment suppliers carried out by Noah. For instance, by taking over maintenance and repairs for old-model equipment, we can significantly reduce the burden on equipment suppliers. As a result, they are free to concentrate resources on new newer equipment.
- What about outsourcing?
- We dispatch engineers whose skills match the needs of our customers, including for maintenance support, assistance on measuring, and support for the launch of new lines. Our engineers carry out a variety of different kinds of work under the guidance of our customers, and more.
- How about your third party business?
- At Noah, we have developed our own third party business providing repairs and overhaul of U.S.-made robots, controllers, and prealigner, as well as maintenance support services for U.S.-made wire bonders.
- Could you tell us about your record in contract services so far?
- Though we are unable to disclose names of companies at this time, we have done contract work for major liquid crystal repair equipment manufacturers, mask inspection machinery manufacturers, semiconductor inspection equipment manufacturers, semiconductor thin film measuring equipment manufacturers, semiconductor post-processing equipment manufacturers, and more.
- We'd like to know more about the conditions of your engineer dispatch.
- We are able to respond to all of our customers' needs in terms of type of dispatch (e.g. full-time contract, spot contract, etc.), period of dispatch, the skills of the engineers, and more.
- Could you tell us about your dispatch record so far?
- We are unable to disclose company names, but we have dispatched to liquid crystal production equipment manufacturers, semiconductor conveyance machinery manufacturers, semiconductor inspection equipment manufactures, semiconductor RTP equipment manufacturers, and more.
- Where do you get your dispatch employees?
- At Noah, in order to ensure that we have the appropriate technology to accommodate the various types of equipment, we have a comprehensive network both inside and outside our company from which we select employees, for both hire and dispatch, that suit the needs of our customers.
- Please tell us about the training your engineers get.
- Safety training is conducted by SEAJ-certified trainers. Additional specialized training on specific equipment is provided as needed (e.g. on lasers).
- Could you tell us about how you select partner companies?
- At Noah, we believe that the synergistic effect brought about by the strengths of the two companies in a partner relationship helps both sides to achieve a better position within the industry, and to differentiate ourselves from our competition. If you are interested in possibly being a partner to us, please contact us at any time.
