Extracted from the Wright Review 10/15/06

 Sawyer Technical Materials LLC supplies as-grown and partially processed single crystal cultured quartz produced hydrothermally and lithium tantalate using melt growth technology to customers worldwide. Business development activities are centered on providing other piezoelectric materials to similar customers. An integrated supplier, Sawyer grows crystal in its Eastlake, Ohio, location and fabricates SAW (surface acoustic wave) wafers in its CONROE plant; producing cultured quartz and lithium tantalate products for electronic applications cover a diverse range of end uses including wireless communications, automotive sensors, multimedia, medical and space applications. Eighty employees that work at the facility are manufacturing polished substrates for quartz tuning forks for the ESC (electronic stability control) package for the auto market. The product is a double-ended tuning fork that is micro-machined from Sawyers’ quartz wafers and sold to the automotive industry for integration into vehicle stabilization systems that are used in autos and SUV’s for skid control and rollover detection. Sawyer’s Conroe facility is also expanding beyond quartz in a joint venture with a Chinese company that produces Lithium Tantalate (LT) crystal boules. Sawyer receives the bars that are shipped from China and does slicing, lapping and polishing for substrates used primarily as RF filters in cell phones. Sawyer’s future growth plans include diversification opportunities in the area of large oxide crystals for optical, sensor and solid state lighting applications and highly engineered small particles for abrasive, catalyst and inorganic

additive applications. Sawyer Technical Materials LLC, 1601 Airport Road, Conroe, TX 77301; 936-756-8886; www.sawyerllc.com.