PRI Automation Expands OEM Division Manufacturing Capacity Growing Customer Demand for Integrated Front-Ends Leads to Expansion of Systems Integration Clean Room Manufacturing Space
BILLERICA, Mass., Jun 5, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- PRI Automation, Inc. (NASD: PRIA), a global leader in advanced automation systems, software, and services to the semiconductor industry, today announced that it has expanded its Systems Integration Clean Room (SICR) manufacturing facility by 50 percent - up to 5,400 sq. ft. Located in Mountain View, Calif., the expanded cleanroom will provide a 50 percent increase in manufacturing capacity for PRI's industry leading integrated front-end (IFE) system as well as provide additional capacity for vacuum systems manufacturing.
"We have seen significant growth in our integrated front-end business throughout the past year," said Robert de Neve, vice president and general manager of PRI Automation's OEM Division. "By working closely with our OEM customers over the past few years, we have been able to develop our integrated front-end into a highly reliable system that is easy to integrate with the tool. With the expansion of our manufacturing capability, we are ensuring that we will have the capacity to meet the expected growth for these systems as the industry continues its transition to 300mm manufacturing."
The facility now has 19 fully functional manufacturing bays, an increase from the 13 manufacturing bays of just three months ago. PRI will now be able to fulfill increased orders - 11 systems in the first three months of 2001 - while still maintaining the products' performance, reliability and the company's industry leading support services.
Since its completion in March 2001, the new facility has ramped up production to meet growing customer demand. This demand is due to recent design wins at leading North American semiconductor process control metrology OEMs. |
