New addition to Midlin: SUSS MicroTec

SUSS MicroTec builds specialist machines for the semiconductor industry, a sector in which Dutch companies such as ASML, ASMI and Besi also excel. Like these companies, Germany's SUSS holds strong market positions, albeit in specialist niches. The company supplies systems for both the front-end (chip production) and back-end (chip assembly) process. In specific sub-markets, SUSS's market share reaches more than 80%. Its product portfolio includes lithography and bonding machines used in preparatory steps of chip assembly, as well as systems for cleaning advanced photomasks, a critical component in the (front-end) lithography process.

We have been involved with SUSS MicroTec through Gerlin Participaties since 2018, engaging in an active dialogue with the company from the outset. In 2020, together with Luxempart, we formed a so-called 'acting-in-concert' shareholder group. With a combined stake of more than 15%, we exerted influence on the company's governance. This led to the early departure of three supervisory board members and the appointment of two new members to the Supervisory Board: Dr. David Dean (ex-BCG, technology expert) and Jan Smits (ex-ASML, semiconductor specialist). As a result of these changes, the Supervisory Board came to be held in the majority by independent experts nominated by major shareholders. The new composition of the Supervisory Board played an important role in the company's repositioning, including the appointment of Burkhardt Frick as CEO. Frick, who joined from ASML, has provided clear strategic direction to the company since taking office and plays a central role in the organisation's professional development.

In recent years, SUSS MicroTec has taken major steps to make the organisation more professional and agile. The focus is on developing a modular product design, outsourcing component production, and improving procurement and logistics processes. The company is also building a local supply chain in Asia. As part of this, SUSS will soon open a new production site in Zhubei (Taiwan), a strategic step to expand production capacity and operate closer to customers in Asia. With this expansion, the company is responding to expected growth in demand, driven by the digitalisation of society, including applications in artificial intelligence, data centres, and the rise of electric and self-driving vehicles.

In November 2025, SUSS will hold a Capital Markets Day, where it will present its strategic plans through 2030. At its previous Capital Markets Day in 2023, it already became clear that SUSS aims to transform into a scalable, profitable machine builder.

SUSS's share price has been highly volatile over the past 18 months. In 2024, the price peaked on AI-related sentiment, with the valuation, in our view, running up somewhat too far. In early 2025, sentiment reversed on concerns about the outlook for 2026, putting the share price under strong pressure. For us, this presented an opportunity to add SUSS to Midlin's portfolio at an attractive valuation. We are investing in a company undergoing a successful transition into a professional machine builder with strong technology, driven management, and still-untapped profit potential — a company that fits Teslin's long-term philosophy.