KEMET and NEC TOKIN to expand product offerings and pursue joint developments

USA: KEMET Corp., a leading manufacturer of tantalum, ceramic, aluminum, film, paper and electrolytic capacitors, announced that, through its wholly owned subsidiary KEMET Electronics Corp. it has entered into two agreements with NEC TOKIN: a Development and Cross Licensing Agreement and an Amended and Restated Private Label Agreement.

"As the first of many tangible benefits from our Joint Venture with NEC TOKIN, the agreements present real benefits to both our customers and to all KEMET stakeholders. They allow us to expand our product offerings, create additional channels and accelerate the development process for new solutions," said Per Loof, KEMET CEO. "These are exciting times for our customers, employees and investors."

In the Development and Cross Licensing Agreement, each of KEMET and NEC TOKIN licenses to the other, on a non-exclusive basis, all of its solely owned patent rights, trade secret rights and certain other intellectual property rights, all as relate to or are useful in the development or production of valve metal capacitors (which includes tantalum and aluminum capacitors).

The Agreement provides a framework for collaborative research and development activities, including the establishment of a Technical Steering Committee. The technical collaboration from this new arrangement should provide customers of both companies with accelerated access to next-generation products.  The Agreement also provides NEC TOKIN with access to certain of the benefits of KEMET's vertically integrated tantalum supply chain.