Trumpf strategic partner of ASML with help of ESI

The success of ASML's chip machines rests largely on the knowledge and expertise of laser specialist Trumpf. Encouraged by ASML, the EUV business unit has undergone a major transformation over the past four years, supported by TNO-ESI and The LMS Group. The necessary cultural shift was not easy, but it now offers the company new growth opportunities as a full-service systems supplier.

In this article in Link (text in Dutch), the change in culture at Trumpf, with the help of ASML and TNO, is described.

TRUMPF manufactures the highly specialized Drive Laser systems that drive the EUV light sources and thereby enable the productivity of ASML's lithography machines. Computer chip manufacturers depend on these ASML machines for their production process.

More than four years ago, ASML decided not only to have TRUMPF produce the modules of the Drive Laser, but also to transfer the entire system architecture and design process to the German company. Until then, ASML designed these laser units in collaboration with TRUMPF specialists. However, new generations of lithography machines continuously set higher demands on the power, reliability, and stability of the lasers. Given the strong interdependence between the two companies, it made sense for ASML to outsource the system engineering of the drive laser units as well and transfer the full product ownership. Jonathan Mueller, Principal Architect at TRUMPF, explains: "ASML found it impractical to maintain a large team that essentially only connects the modules provided by TRUMPF and then takes responsibility for the entire drive laser units. It is much more efficient for TRUMPF to deliver the complete product, including all industrialization deliverables such as software and procedures."

However, TRUMPF was a typical supplier organization that delivered parts based on highly detailed specifications. To become an original module manufacturer (OMM), the company underwent a transformation process. A technical process had to be added—namely the design of system architecture—and an organizational change was initiated, placing the responsibility for the quality of the end product with the various TRUMPF teams. "In the past, we had a classic line organization where the line manager made the decisions. In the new situation, we had to move to a matrix organization where the line manager essentially lends his employees to projects," explains Martin Sauter, Vice President Service EUV at TRUMPF.

TRUMPF chose the BAPO-C (Business-Architecture-Process-Organization-Culture) approach as a guide for the transformation. BAPO in a nutshell: the Business strategy drives choices in Architecture, which in turn determine how processes are organized. The organization is then structured to achieve the business goals. Mueller: "We started with the business, but soon an organizational chart was drawn, which is not how the model works. Many people still thought it was enough to create an organizational chart. Then the architecture and processes would naturally fall into place, just as they always had, and culture was simply not seen as something important for that process."