Anam Semiconductor Places Multimillion-Dollar Order With Asyst Technologies for SMIF and Minienvironment Products; Key Competitive Win Expands Korean Presence.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 2000

Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT) today announced that Anam Semiconductor, Inc. (Buchon, Korea) has placed a follow-on multimillion-dollar order for Asyst's load-port transfer (LPT) system and minienvironment products. While the dollar value of the order was not disclosed, it represents significant additional Asyst products purchased by Anam following a November 1999 trial order and subsequent extensive evaluation. Asyst products selected by Anam include the Asyst-SMIF(TM) minienvironment system, the SMIF-LPT(TM) 2200, and the single-reticle SMIF-Pod(TM) 150mm.

Anam will implement Asyst's technology in its existing fab, currently expanding to manufacture a wide range of semiconductors including advanced digital signal processors (DSPs), flash memory, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and telecommunications chips. Anam's 67,000-square-foot clean room produces approximately 25,000 deep-submicron wafers per month, targeting 30,000 per month by the end of 2000.

According to Chul-Ho Shin, SMIF manager with Anam, "We selected Asyst because of its technically superior products and extremely responsive and competent customer support team. We are pleased to have entered into our expanded relationship with Asyst, and we look forward to their continued assistance with our ongoing productivity and efficiency improvements that will allow us to expand our leadership role in the semiconductor foundry arena."

J.K. Kim, director of Asyst Korea Co. Ltd., said, "When we learned that Anam was seeking an alternative source for its minienvironment products, we offered our consulting services and provided evaluation installations designed to address their most critical issues. It was therefore quite rewarding for us to ultimately win their business, and we look forward to the continued growth of our relationship as Anam plans construction of its new fab."

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, semiconductor industry cycles, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's recent 10K quarterly report on file with the Securities Exchange Commission.

About Anam: Founded in 1970, Anam Semiconductor, Inc. officially entered the semiconductor fab industry in September 1996. Based in Buchon, Korea, Anam's fab is equipped with a 0.25-micron production facility, which is currently being upgraded to take the fab to the 0.18-micron process level. By converting to mass production in 1998, Anam had an annual export capacity of more than $600 million. Anam expects its annual export capacity to grow to $1.8 billion by the end of 2000.

About Asyst: Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF(TM))-based minienvironment and manufacturing automation systems that enable semiconductor manufacturers to protect customers' valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Asyst offers a broad range of 200 mm and 300 mm products that enable the Company to provide semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs automated manufacturing solutions for the transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line. Asyst's homepage is http://www.asyst.com.

Note to Editors: SMIF, SMIF-Pod, and SMIF-LPT are trademarks of Asyst Technologies, Inc.