JEMI stands for the Joint
Equipment and Materials Initiative and was founded in 1992 following
the model of a similar organisation in France; JEMI France. There
were around 6 founding members of the organisation including BOC and
the then Epichem Ltd.
In the early years the organisation grew to represent 25-30 members of
the semiconductor community under the leadership of Neil Downie and
was based in the South of the UK. As the Semiconductor Industry in the UK and Ireland rapidly
developed during the mid 90's increasing numbers of companies showed
an interest in the industry and JEMI UK continued to develop it's
program of benefits to the membership in the form of training and
company visits.
Neil stood down in 1998 and his role as Chairman was taken up by Ian
Burnett of IDB Technologies, who introduced several new Directors to
the board. During this period many new companies showed an interest
in producing microelectronics in the UK and by concentrating on
member retention and extending member benefits the organisation grew
from 30 to 70 members. It was during this period that the JEMI
office moved to Edinburgh and appointed a permanent Business Manager
to coordinate and manage its' activities.
In 2000 Chris Walker took charge of the organisation and the
organisation launched its first major conference; Semiconductor 2000
and set up a new company to manage the event. Funding was secured
from several sponsors including Scottish Enterprise which ensured
the events future in Edinburgh, a popular venue for the
Semiconductor community.
The organisation consolidated its position in the UK and started to
collaborate widely developing close ties with parallel organisations
in France, Germany and wider afield.
Iain Hyslop of the Scottish Microelectronics Centre took over in
2004 and the organisation continued to develop its industry
links to support in the lobbying of members interests and supporting
business development.
2008 saw Iain Hyslop step down as Chairman of JEMI and has been succeeded by CH2MHILL Business Development Manager Ian Tonge.
2011 saw Ian Tonge step down as Chairman of JEMI and has been succeeded by Alec Reader, NanoKTN.
.
