ASTeX ENI Alliance in Taiwan.

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 27, 1998--Applied Science and Technology, Inc. ("ASTeX") (Nasdaq: ASTX) and ENI, A Division of Astec America, Inc., today announced an agreement to provide direct sales and support in Taiwan. The joint activity, which will be called the ENI ASTeX Power Alliance(TM), will be in effect in November 1998.

The ENI ASTeX Power Alliance will initially be located in the current ENI site in Science-Based Industrial Park, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan, R.O.C. The joint facility will provide direct sales for both ASTeX and ENI products with dedicated sales personnel for each product group. In addition, the office will be staffed with factory-trained service personnel to support both ASTeX and ENI products. The facility will be stocked to provide warranty and back-up spares support. The office will be managed by Adam Shern of ENI. In the start-up phase, while the local Power Alliance team is trained, the staff will be augmented by ASTeX service personnel.

Dr. Avi Katz, Senior Vice President of Global Customer Operations, stated, "This is a tremendous opportunity for ASTeX and ENI to enter into a partnership which benefits our customers and our companies. It is the result of out-of-the-box thinking on how to improve our local presence without significantly increasing costs. It shows that even strong, independent companies can benefit from a strategic alliance."

Ed Maier, Executive Vice President of ENI, was a key member of the team that formulated the intercompany agreement. Mr. Maier commented, "Building on creative ideas has allowed us to formulate a partnership which capitalizes on the strengths of our combined organizations for improved support of our customers in this key region."

ENI is a leading worldwide manufacturer of radio frequency (RF) and DC high power conversion products and instrumentation for semiconductor, industrial, medical and research applications. With headquarters in Rochester, New York, ENI has seven ISO 9001 certified sales and service offices worldwide. For more information, visit ENI's web site at www.enipower.com.

ASTeX is a leading provider of innovative technology for the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices and for a variety of medical and industrial applications. The Company's products cover a broad range of plasma sources and subsystems, ozone generators and subsystems, fluorine generators, and specialty power supplies. ASTeX markets these products to the world's leading semiconductor and medical OEMs and to end users for semiconductor and industrial production applications. For more information, visit the ASTeX web site at www.astex.com.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, reliance on key strategic alliances, general economic conditions, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.