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Technology Stocks : Cymer (CYMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: diana g who wrote (11048)	12/5/1997 7:00:00 PM
From: ForYourEyesOnly	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 25960

SEMICON JAPAN UPDATE: The following is my person opinion only, and is of NO INVESTMENT VALUE. I exhibited at Semicon for the 3 days of the show, so I was not able to visit laser cos during the show, but I stopped by for an early morning visit this Friday. Cymer booth: 1. Small booth (why not be agressive?) 2. Product guide in English 3. Contact person in product guide is an American in the U.S. with a S.D. phone # 4. Machine on display Why didn't they get a big flashy booth, and fill it with salespeople to address all customers who come by? Why is the company info in English? Why is the contact person some guy in S.D.? Japanese customers do not want to have to call the U.S. in English to make inquiries. I was not happy with the basic exhibit problems mentioned above, and I feel a little uncomfortable about just how localized their operations in Japan are. Komatsu booth: No time to go by, but rumored not to have a machine on display. Lambda booth: Machine on display right in front of Nikon's booth. Conversation with Cymer: I met a friendly American sales guy, who told me the same thing that Cymer management has said, that Cymer is the only one shipping systems for production, and that the others are being evaluated only. He seemed to be conscious of the negative rumors on Wall Street. Conversation with Nikon: Met a Nikon sales guy who covers Taiwan. He said: 1. Komatsu seems to have better service in Japan. 2. Cymer is making too much money, and does not have the resources to offer good service too all companies. Some little companies in Taiwan feel neglected by Cymer, and are starting to ask for Komatsu. 3. We have shipped Komatsu lasers to Taiwan (no figures given). The Nikon did not seem to be interested in Lambda at all, and suggested I ask his boss if I wanted to pursue it. Maybe they have told Lambda "no". Now, want to know how bad the U.S. financial community is about collecting info about what is really happening in Japan? Guess what I found in a magazine free to EVERYONE WHO VISITED SEMICON JAPAN (Japanese language only). There is 2 page article about Komatsu (I believe written by Komatsu) that offers their laser as an important component for 300mm production. It says: 1. Current production will be 20 systems a month by end this year (or their fiscal year?) 2. Have plans to ramp to 500 systems a year. 3. Are preparing to set up service stations in Japan and abroad. I don't have time to translate the article, but from the above I would say that "KOMATSU IS GOING TO BE A PLAYER IN THIS MARKET." Good luck.... THC Next we need to get Yousef's update from his meeting with Nikon U.S.

To: diana g who wrote (11048)	12/5/1997 8:23:00 PM
From: James Word	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25960

diana RE: "Problems with Cymer Lasers" My experience is limited to R&D systems, ie systems that are not heavily used 24hrs per day in production. My experience has thus far been positive. My conversations with those who ARE using them in production, as well as the stepper manufacturers who are supporting them in the field, indicates that the performance of the Cymer laser has been quite good. I do not know anything about vibration problems with the lasers. As for field support, IC companies, including the one that I work for, are always complaining about field support. You should hear what people say about Applied Materials, Canon, Mattson, Semitool and all the others. That is just a fact of life in the industry. Some semi equip companies are real boneheads. Some IC manufacturers are also boneheads in their dealings with vendors. Some IC manufacturers push their vendors to impossible extremes (Ive heard this about Motorola), and others treat their vendors as "partners" (Ive heard this about Intel). Don't worry about what one person says regarding "Poor Cymer field service". Also, I know that SVGL, Canon, and ASML are quickly training their own personell to service the lasers without Cymer's help. That should help in the long run. James Word