ASM International says it started manufacturing tools in the U.S.

April 30 (Reuters) - Dutch chip-making equipment supplier ASM International ASMI.AS has started local production of tools for U.S. chipmakers in response to the U.S. tariffs backdrop, its Chief Executive said on Wednesday.

"We've already started to manufacture some of the tools for our customers in the U.S., just to get us started," CEO Hichem M'Saad said a day after the company reported quarterly earnings.

"I think that our global installed base, our global infrastructure, allows us to really have manufacturing in many places - and Phoenix, Arizona, is one of them."

ASM is the most exposed to the U.S. market among European peers such as ASML ASML.AS or BESI BESI.AS, with U.S. sales accounting for 21% of its revenue last year.