Cary,
I don't have much insight into Cymer, although I have enjoyed
the recent coversations. However, one of the stocks I do
follow is that of Coherent (COHR). Caveat: I DO own shares.
My understanding is that, as far as lasers go, Coherent is
pretty much the bellweather both in terms of marketshare,
breadth of technology, and R&D. In researching the co.
prior to my purchase I was concerned about competition as I
have tended to be leery of any company selling anything that
could end up as a commodity item. Anyway, even though the list of
competitors was long, COHR seemed a very solid and competitive company. I was particularly concerned about one of their 'competitors'
that showed up in various industry literature, Lucent. My
concern orginated from my fear (maybe overblown) that if
Bell Labs was trying to come up with laser technology of their
own, then I would be somewhat worried given the Bell Labs
reputation. However, upon contacting Bell Labs and asking
about their laser development, their response was very quick:
we use products from Coherent for most applications. With
that reassurance, I was much more comfortable.
I guess I am writing this to ask maybe a higher level
question about Cymer. Are they a major player or the latest
hot company with a patent or two? I know Coherent has
positioned itself to become a player in the semiconductor
field, and based on the growth that has been reported
there, I am at least comfortable with their approach and
their liklihood of success in becoming a major player
in that market as well. They do not seem very well known,
but even after a short time knowing this company, my
suspicion is that this is one that I may own for quite
a long time and with very positive results.
Regards,
J |
