BOC Edwards, a supplier of vacuum, abatement and chemical management equipment and services to semiconductor OEMs and fabrication facilities (fabs), announced today it has opened a new European semiconductor headquarters in Grenoble, France, and transferred its European semiconductor team from West Sussex, England, to Grenoble. The company initially relocated 50 employees from its sales, business management and applications engineering functions to the new location. It said it intends to hire employees for engineering, project management, and service and support positions and to increase its presence in key markets such as the photovoltaic industry, compound semiconductor devices and outsourcing services "BOC Edwards has more than doubled in size over the past decade to well above $1 billion,” said Olivier Blachier, general manager of its Europe semiconductor business. “This success has been due to organic growth and a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions, mainly focused on on-tool vacuum, gas and liquid extraction and treatment technologies." The new headquarters, which opened on Sept. 20, is located in the Bernin Industrial Zone, adjacent to the Crolles fabs for submicron technologies. The new address is: BOC Edwards, Bâtiment MEMSCAP, ZI des Fontaines, 38190 Bernin, France