Varian Semiconductor Wins First Place in VLSI Research 10 BEST Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment Award
Wednesday June 18, 8:44 am ET
VSEA Celebrates Sixth Year Ranked Number One
GLOUCESTER, Ma.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2003--Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSEA - News), a leading supplier of ion implantation systems, today announced that the Company has again achieved first place in the prestigious VLSI Research 10 BEST Survey.
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Varian Semiconductor celebrates its sixth win as the highest ranked Large Supplier of Wafer Processing Equipment for 2003. The Company received top scores in each of the following eleven categories: cost of ownership, build quality, usable throughput, quality of results, product performance, process support, field engineering support, spares support, support after sales, technical leadership and commitment.
"In view of the high expectations of our industry, it is an honor to be acknowledged again for providing the highest customer satisfaction," remarked Ernest Godshalk, president and chief operating officer of Varian Semiconductor. "The ultimate test of our success is whether customers are satisfied with the quality of our tools and our support. As part of our continuous improvement processes, we continue investing in our VIISta platform tools to deliver increasingly high productivity that maximizes our customers' return on investment, while achieving excellence in customer satisfaction. This award shows that our customers are pleased with the products and services they receive from Varian Semiconductor, and we are honored to accept it on behalf of our dedicated employees."
"Varian Semiconductor again achieved the number one position in our 10 BEST rankings this year due to its unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction," stated VLSI Research president, G. Dan Hutcheson. "This year, customers commented that Varian Semiconductor provides them with 'excellent people who are highly trained and are very willing to do what it takes to keep the equipment up, running and safe', 'the best overall service team (they have) ever experienced', and tools that provide 'very high throughput (with) consistent and stable performance and powerful software for diagnostics'. The company's repeated success is clearly a result of their dedication to providing innovative, quality products and extensive support programs."
The VLSI Research survey is generally regarded as the industry's principal indicator of overall customer satisfaction for both equipment and service. To qualify for a ranking in the VLSI Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment category, a company must have received at least 16 individual responses rating its equipment. VLSI received over 500 responses for Varian Semiconductor - more than any other company in the survey.
About VLSI Research Inc
VLSI Research Inc was founded in 1976 and incorporated in California in 1981. The company specializes in market research and economic analysis on the technical, business, and economic aspects of the high technology semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its numerous contacts within the semiconductor industry provide sharply focused insight into emerging requirements.
The success of VLSI Research Inc is due to its reputation for unparalleled accuracy and innovation in market research. Its databases on manufacturing are used throughout the industry, and by government. It is often quoted by the press. Since the early eighties it has been the only market research firm to consistently gauge the direction of growth. Its innovations include being the first to use demand-based forecasting; the first to model semiconductor inventories in forecasts; the first to use cost-of-ownership models for evaluating equipment; the first to perform customer satisfaction surveys; the first semiconductor industry research firm to apply desktop publishing; and the first to provide portable research. VLSI Research offers subscription services, multi-client surveys, and provides consulting on a contract basis.
About Varian Semiconductor
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. is a leading producer of ion implantation equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors. The company is headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and operates worldwide. Varian Semiconductor maintains a web site at www.vsea.com. The information contained in the company's web site is not incorporated by reference into this release, and the web site address is included in this release as an inactive textual reference only.
Note: This release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, the statements concerning the company's performance, market share, customer satisfaction and technology leadership, technological capabilities and benefits are forward-looking statements and any statements using the terms "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important risks and factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These include, among others, volatility in the semiconductor equipment industry; economic conditions in general and as they affect the company's customers; significant fluctuations in the company's quarterly operating results; the impact of rapid technological change; the company's dependence on the development and introduction of new products; the company's concentration on ion implantation systems and related products; concentration in the company's customer base and lengthy sales cycles; the highly competitive market in which the company competes; risks of international sales; foreign currency risks; and general economic conditions; and other factors identified in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievement. The company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release. |
