Kulicke & Soffa Announces a Volume Purchase Agreement With National Semiconductor Corp.
Wednesday July 9, 3:12 pm ET
WILLOW GROVE, PA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jul 9, 2003 -- Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NasdaqNM:KLIC - News) today announced that the company has signed a volume purchase agreement (VPA) with National Semiconductor Corp. of Santa Clara, CA, (NYSE:NSM - News) for the purchase of Maxum wire bonders. The agreement defines an agreed price for the wire bonders which will be delivered to National's facilities in Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, the corporate VPA provides that K&S will be the exclusive supplier of wire bonders over the next 12-month time period.
"Based on our current assessment, the K&S Maxum wire bonder and K&S process support is the most suitable for our needs. The Maxum wire bonder is a versatile platform that gives us manufacturing capability over a wide range of packages with the best combination of output and yield," said Wan Choong Hoe, general manager of National Semiconductor, Singapore.
Jack Belani, Vice President of Marketing at K&S, stated, "This agreement with National Semiconductor begins a refreshed relationship between our two companies. It allows us to co-develop a rolling forecast and plan for wire bonding equipment requirements across all the NS factories. The result is a just-in-time supply of new equipment, without delays caused by normal price & availability negotiations. And of course, K&S is very proud to be selected as National Semiconductor's exclusive supplier for wire bonders. It is perhaps the highest award to receive from a customer."
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on analog-based semiconductor products, which include stand-alone devices and subsystems in the areas of power management, imaging, display drivers, audio, amplifiers and data conversion. The company targets key markets such as wireless, displays, PC and networking, and a broad range of portable applications. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $1.5 billion for its most recent fiscal year. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
About Kulicke & Soffa
Kulicke & Soffa (NasdaqNM:KLIC - News) is the world's leading supplier of wire bonding equipment in the semiconductor assembly market. K&S is the only assembly equipment supplier that also develops and manufactures the products that touch a semiconductor chip's wire bonding pad surfaces, starting with electrical testing and ending with specially formed wire interconnections that remain as a part of the chip's package. These products include: test probes; bonding wire; and capillaries, which provide an all-inclusive interconnect process when used with the company's wire bonding equipment. In addition, the company offers wafer dicing equipment and cutting blade solutions as well as Flip Chip wafer bumping services and technology. Chip scale and wafer level packaging solutions include Ultra CSP® technology. Test interconnect products include standard and vertical probe cards, ATE interface assemblies and ATE boards for wafer testing, as well as test sockets and contactors for all types of packages. Kulicke & Soffa's web site address is www.kns.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are found in various places throughout the press release. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning the development of our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to, those listed or discussed in Kulicke & Soffa Industries' 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K and: the risk of failure to successfully manage our operations; the risk that anticipated orders may not materialize or that orders received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the risk that anticipated cost savings will not be achieved; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; acts of terrorism and violence; overall global economic conditions; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with a substantial foreign customer and supplier base and substantial foreign manufacturing operations; potential instability in foreign capital markets; and other key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance contained in past and future filings and reports, including those with the SEC. Kulicke & Soffa Industries is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. |
