Meet Nye - John Evans
John Evans has been with Nye Lubricants for the last five years and serves as Nye’s Semiconductor/In-Vacuum Industry Manager. In addition to overseeing our Semiconductor market strategy, John is also the Director of Sales Operations and Support where he is responsible for the oversight of pricing, customer services, inside technical sales, and global sales coordination. John holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross.
How have you seen the Semiconductor/In-Vacuum market change over the last few years?
In past years, it was assumed that Moore’s Law (the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles about every two years) was enough to drive the Semiconductor/In-Vacuum market. But now, the belief is that “more than Moore” will be needed to drive the industry. As this evolution continues, Semiconductor applications frequently require highly customized and technical solutions, often even specific to a unique application, with technical specifications being by far the most critical decision criteria for customers.
How is Nye uniquely positioned to serve customers in the Semiconductor/In-Vacuum markets?
Nye’s ability to develop customized lubricants is highly valued in the Semiconductor/In-Vacuum industry. Many of the applications in these industries are relatively unique and may require specialty formulations that require research and development on behalf of the original equipment or component manufacturer. In addition to our industry-leading NyeTorr® product line, Nye works with OEMs and suppliers of components to satisfy their unique specifications. This has made Nye a highly valued lubricant supplier in this industry.
How has Nye responded to the recent need for Semicon/In-Vacuum oils and greases under the new REACH guidelines regarding PFOA?
On June 14, 2017, the European Union (EU) published Regulation (EU) 2017/1000 to regulate PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), its salts and certain related substances as a new entry to Annex XVII of REACH. Effective July 4, 2022, this regulation will enforce PFOA levels in semiconductor manufacturing and related equipment (including replacement parts), with the detectable limits of PFOA content in articles being restricted to less than 25 parts per billion. Nye Lubricants has dedicated research and development resources to this important issue with focus on prevention of supply discontinuity issues relating to this upcoming regulation, and currently offers Semicon/In-Vacuum products that meet the REACH requirement of the detectable limits of less than 25 ppb. For additional information, please visit Nye’s website and also meet with one of our lubrication engineers at Semicon West from July 9-11, 2019, Booth #1960, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
What changes do you expect the Semiconductor industry to face in the coming years?
It has been said that “the next big thing is never obvious”, and it is true that nobody is certain which large-scale innovations that are currently on the horizon will have the most impact. However, there are certainly signs that advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and advances in autonomous driving will continue to grow in the marketplace, which will in turn increase opportunities in the semiconductor market. Additionally, technology demands related to 5G networks, advanced robotics, OLEDs, artificial intelligence and machine learning are expected to arise. With these developments yet to be made, industry leaders agree that the semiconductor/in-vacuum industry is a core tech element that is not going away. In fact, this is a very exciting time to be working in these industries.
What is your favorite thing about working for Nye?
My favorite thing about working at Nye is the people that I get to interact with and work with every day. I am privileged to associate with so many highly skilled, highly knowledgeable co-workers at Nye, who see interesting opportunities in challenging problems. Because the work is very collaborative at Nye, everyone has a voice and an opportunity to make the company better and improve themselves in the process. I look forward to continued growth and problem solving in the future.
Click here to connect with John on LinkedIn.
