2025-10-18Source:
Recently, NFL Group, together with the European delegation from the Fluorine Materials Application Technology Branch of the Wenzhou Society of Chemistry and Materials, visited Belgium, Germany, and Italy for industry collaboration and technical exchanges. The trip focused on overcoming key material bottlenecks in ultra-pure (UHP) PTFE-lined valves, pipe fittings, and equipment, aiming to identify critical breakthroughs for advancing ultra-pure PTFE components into high-end semiconductor applications through in-depth engagement with renowned European companies and industrial parks.
Addressing Core Component Challenges and Targeting European Material Benchmarks
The delegation focused its core objectives on two major Italian fluorine material giants—Fluorseals and ITAflon Group. As Italy’s largest fluorine products and processing enterprise, Fluorseals attracted particular attention from the delegation due to its precision processing technology and full-process quality control system in semiconductor sealing components.
“In wet-process semiconductor applications, ultra-pure (UHP) PTFE-lined valves, pipe fittings, and equipment handle electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid as the process medium. These components must meet stringent requirements: controlling metal cation leaching, anion content, and total organic carbon (TOC) in accordance with SEMI F57 standards, while achieving an ultra-clean internal wall surface roughness of ≤0.6 μm. This represents the ‘line between success and failure’ in PTFE-lined component manufacturing,” stated Fang Xianle, Chairman of NFL Group, during the visit. He emphasized that while domestic PTFE-lined products are mature for general industrial applications, the high purity and contamination-free manufacturing processes required by the semiconductor industry have long made high-end valves and pipe fittings reliant on imports, restricting domestic access to the core UHP PTFE component supply chain and limiting the development of local high-end semiconductor equipment.
ITAflon Group’s expertise in modified PTFE, PFA, and other high-end materials aligns closely with NFL Group’s requirements. Its developed ultra-pure (UHP) fluorine materials can achieve metal cation leaching of ≤0.01 ppb through injection molding processes, meeting the equipment requirements for 7-nanometer and below semiconductor manufacturing. During the exchange, both parties quickly reached a consensus, agreeing to directly implement technical cooperation to upgrade ultra-pure (UHP) PTFE-lined valves, pipe fittings, and related equipment.
Signing a Cooperation Intent to Establish a Domestic Production Channel for Ultra-Pure PTFE-Lined Components
During the Italy visit, led by the Italian National Industrial Federation, NFL Group and ITAflon officially signed a strategic cooperation intent, focusing on two core areas: R&D of semiconductor-grade PFA/modified PTFE materials and integrated application of PTFE-lined components.
“NFL’s full-range production experience in PTFE-lined valves, pipe fittings, and equipment, combined with its domestic market channels, provides the ideal scenario for implementing our technology,” said Mirko Zanga, Chairman of ITAflon Group. European material companies often lack the capability to validate materials through end-component applications, whereas NFL can provide a full-process testing environment from material verification to PTFE-lined valve and pipe fitting fabrication.
Fang Xianle, Chairman of NFL Group, added: “With ITAflon’s material technology, our PTFE-lined valves can achieve low metal ion leaching and high surface cleanliness, while our pipe fittings prevent medium retention and particle contamination. We expect to increase the domestic production rate of semiconductor-grade PTFE-lined core components by 40%, breaking the price monopoly and supply barriers of imported products.”
Both parties plan to establish a joint laboratory to address precision molding challenges for modified materials, ensuring that technology is quickly transformed into qualified ultra-pure (UHP) PTFE-lined products to serve the high-end semiconductor industry.
Benchmarking the European Ecosystem to Upgrade the Foundation of the PTFE-Lined Industry
In addition to corporate visits, the delegation also conducted in-depth studies at chemical parks in Antwerp, Belgium, and Dormagen, Germany, focusing on the “materials–components–end-equipment” collaborative innovation model and clean production standards. The close collaboration between materials suppliers and component manufacturers in these European parks provides key insights for NFL in building an ultra-pure (UHP) PTFE-lined product supply chain.
“Previously, we focused mainly on component manufacturing. This time, we realized that breakthroughs in electronic-grade PTFE-lined products require simultaneous advancements in material R&D, precision processing, and clean testing,” said the delegation leader. In the future, the upgrade of the Wenzhou Fluorine Materials Industrial Park will center on NFL’s requirements, introducing supporting enterprises for material purity testing, surface roughness calibration, and other capabilities, forming a complete industrial ecosystem for PTFE-lined valves, pipe fittings, and equipment.
During this European visit, NFL Group leveraged a “materials technology partnership” to address the core bottlenecks in semiconductor PTFE-lined components. As the collaboration progresses, its PTFE-lined products are expected to make the leap from “industrial-grade” to “ultra-pure (UHP) electronic-grade”, not only filling gaps in the domestic market but also providing critical PTFE-lined component support for the self-reliant development of Chinese semiconductor equipment.
