Asyst Technologies Receives Multimillion-Dollar Order From United Microelectronics Corp. Group; New Customer Extends Asyst's Leadership in Taiwan
BusinessWire, Thursday, October 30, 1997 at 14:12
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 1997--Asyst
Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT), the leading supplier of
minienvironment and SMIF-based technology to the worldwide
semiconductor industry, today announced a major multimillion-dollar
order from United Semiconductor Corp. (USC), a subsidiary of United
Microelectronics Corp. Group (UMC) (Hsinchu, Taiwan).
The order, for multiple Asyst SMIF-LPT(TM) (Load Port Transfer)
systems, minienvironments and computer integrated manufacturing
(CIM)-related products, extends Asyst's dominance as the leading SMIF
provider in the Taiwanese semiconductor market. Installation of the
Asyst LPT systems for 8-inch wafer processing will begin at the end
of 1997.
USC will use the highly adaptable LPTs in its recent foundry
expansion to produce various integrated circuits (ICs) with
0.25-micron design rules. Commenting on the flexibility of Asyst's
SMIF I/O solution, Dr. Peter Chang, USC's president, noted: "For our
8-inch facility expansion, we needed a SMIF manufacturing solution
that would integrate seamlessly with our current cleanroom
facilities. Asyst's LPT system performance, extensive experience and
comprehensive customer support in this region made them the obvious
choice for our new quarter-micron program."
Asyst reports that as chipmakers in the Asia-Pacific region
prepare to meet aggressive production schedules, Asyst continues to
experience accelerated adoption of SMIF manufacturing among the
region's key players. According to recent projections from
independent market research firm Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.), the
Asia-Pacific region will experience the fastest growth in
semiconductor production, with a forecasted compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 18.4 percent from 1995 to 2001, outpacing the
worldwide CAGR of 13.8 percent.
With this order, Asyst now provides SMIF-based technology for
95 percent of the semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Taiwan.
Dr. Mihir Parikh, Asyst's chairman and chief executive officer, cited
Taiwan's competitive climate as a primary factor for the region's
rapid adoption of SMIF. "At this level of competition, increasing
productivity and yields is vital to driving up profitability, which
is a significant competitive edge for the key players in this
region," noted Parikh.
USC plans to use the Asyst LPT systems to maintain or increase
its 40,000 wafer-per-month output level for new 0.25-micron design
rules. The LPTs will provide USC with an ultraclean wafer
environment solution without incurring the high costs or significant
facility downtimes associated with cleanroom expansions.
Kenneth Leung, Asyst's vice president of sales, Asia-Pacific,
commented on the significance of USC's order, "This order validates
our success in providing leading-edge customer support and SMIF
solutions to one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world."
Leung continued, "We look forward to helping USC reach its advanced
8-inch production goals, and to a long-lasting relationship."
About USC: Established in 1995, USC provides wafer foundry
services and related expertise to semiconductor companies worldwide.
The company specializes in leading-edge DRAM, SRAM, logic
non-volatile and embedded logic technology manufacturing. A
subsidiary of United Microelectronics Corp., USC is located in
Hsinchu, Taiwan.
About Asyst: Asyst Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of
material handling systems that help semiconductor manufacturers
improve their integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing productivity.
The company's Asyst-SMIF(TM) System combines state-of-the-art
minienvironments with advanced robotics to create ultraclean
processing environments that are both comprehensive and flexible.
The SMART-Traveler(TM) System (STS) works in tandem with SMIF to
eliminate misprocessing. Both Asyst-SMIF and its companion STS
products are integral to seamless factory automation.
Asyst Software Inc. is dedicated to the development of software
products for equipment communications and automated material
handling, identification and tracking. Founded in 1984, Asyst
Technologies Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, Calif., with
facilities in Europe and the Far East. Asyst Software is located in
San Jose, Calif.
About SMIF: SMIF stands for Standard Mechanical InterFace, the
material handling approach that enables wafer transfer to and from
sealed SMIF environments without exposure to cleanroom ambient
conditions. SEMI standards exist for 150-, 200- and 300 mm wafer
sizes. |
