Mexican President Felipe Calderón Cuts Ribbon to Open 2012 Innovadora Conference with Innovative Technology: Ceramic Scissors from KYOCERA

TIJUANA, Mexico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a tribute to industrial innovation and technology, Mexican President Felipe Calderón today used ceramic scissors from Kyocera in a ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate the Tijuana Innovadora 2012 global technology conference, which continues through October 21 at the Tijuana Cultural Center. The ribbon cutting was assisted by Carlos Bustamante, Mayor of Tijuana; Jerry Sanders, Mayor of San Diego; and José Osuna Millán, Governor of Baja California.

While most scissors are everyday household items, Kyocera’s highly specialized ceramic scissors reflect the high-tech theme of the conference, which showcases the city as a center for innovation and technology. Ceramic scissors are used for specialized tasks in the laboratory and in manufacturing because they are chemically inert, non-magnetic, electrically non-conductive, and less likely to transmit electrostatic energy to semiconductors or other sensitive electronic devices.

Kyocera is among more than 50 exhibitors displaying their latest products at Tijuana Innovadora. The Kyocera exhibit at Pavilion 4, directly across from Café Cecut, includes solar energy modules and semiconductor packaging products made in Tijuana and San Diego. Kyocera is also exhibiting selected products that it manufactures in other regions of the world — including innovative wireless handsets, engineered ceramic components, ceramic and cermet industrial cutting tools, and ceramic kitchen cutlery.

Kyocera’s advanced ceramic materials possess unique physical, chemical, electrical, thermal and optical properties that differentiate them from typical ceramics. They are used in high-performance applications ranging from electronic equipment to sushi knives, automotive engines and even nuclear particle accelerators. They can be found in items as ubiquitous as your cell phone -- which could contain more than 50 Kyocera Group components -- and as unique as NASA’s Pathfinder Rovers on the surface of Mars.

Kyocera’s innovations will be showcased in parallel with the show’s 2012 keynote speakers, including President Calderón, Ada Yonath (2009 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry), Steve Wozniak (Apple), Steve Berlin Johnson (author), George Whitesides (Virgin Galactic) and more than 40 other international experts in science, technology, business, academia and the arts.

About KYOCERA

Kyocera Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., based in Tijuana, is a leading producer of solar modules, ceramic semiconductor packaging, liquid-crystal display components and other high-technology products. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyocera International, Inc. of San Diego, the North American headquarters and holding company for Kyoto, Japan-based Kyocera Corporation.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of solar power generating systems, printers, copiers, telecommunications equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial components. During the year ended March 31, 2012, the company’s net sales totaled 1.19 trillion yen (approx. USD14.5 billion). The company is ranked #426 on Forbes magazine’s 2012 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.

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