Asyst Technologies Receives $1.7 Million Order From Candescent Technologies Corporation; Asyst Sells SMART-Station Software to Company's First Non-SMIF Fab.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1998--Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT), the leading supplier of manufacturing automation and Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF SMIF Standard Mechanical Interface SMIF Stream-based Model Interchange Format SMIF Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (Duke University) SMIF Stanford Management Internship Fund SMIF SMAD4-Interacting Transcription Factor ) isolation to the semiconductor industry, today announced it has received a $1.7 million order from Candescent can·des·cence n. The state of being white hot; incandescence. [From Latin cand  sc Technologies Corp. (San Jose San Jose, city, United StatesSan Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.). The order includes SMART-Station(tm) software licenses In computing, software that is copyrighted and licensed under a software license is done under a variety of licensing schemes. For end-users there are proprietary licenses and there are free software licenses, and there are proprietary Within these schemes are further classifications. , a maintenance contract and SMART-Station consulting services, marking Asyst's first SMART-Station sale to a non-SMIF customer. Design and development of the software will begin immediately, with complete equipment automation at Candescent's flat panel display A thin display screen for computer and TV usage. The first flat panels appeared on laptop computers in the mid-1980s, and the LCD technology became the standard. Stand-alone LCD screens became available for desktop computers in the mid-1990s and exceeded sales of CRTs for the first time fab scheduled for completion in the second half of 1999. Dennis Riccio, Asyst's vice president of global sales and marketing, commented, "The Candescent order demonstrates the strength and capability of Asyst's software offering. We proved SMART-Station to be the superior automation product when compared to three of our major competitors." Riccio also noted, "The SMART-Station software was specifically developed to be easily adaptable to new equipment and manufacturing scenarios. Automating the equipment for Candescent's flat-panel manufacturing facility will allow us to utilize the flexibility that was designed into the software." Candescent Technologies Corp. is the developer of the world's first ThinCRT(tm) (cathode ray tube See CRT. (hardware) cathode ray tube - (CRT) An electrical device for displaying images by exciting phosphor dots with a scanned electron beam. CRTs are found in computer VDUs and monitors, televisions and oscilloscopes. ) flat panel display. The ThinCRT is a dramatic improvement over the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) now used in notebook computers and other electronic devices, providing better picture quality at a competitive cost. Commenting on the decision to use SMART-Station in their facility, Tom Dillon, Candescent's vice president and chief information officer, said, "Asyst's SMART-Station outscored all other candidates in the `superior technology' comparison. The fact that the software allows open architecture, support for non-standard equipment, scalability and the benefit of a non-proprietary language and operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. were key criteria in our decision. Asyst also offered us excellent reference sites where we could see the success of previous installations running seven days a week, 24 hours a day. In addition, the exceptional customer support that was offered assured us that any potential problems would be taken care of immediately. All of these factors helped make our decision to use SMART-Station very easy." Asyst's SMART-Station is the first automation solution to use powerful workflow technology Workflow technology is a new field of software products designed to improve the design of information systems. It involves use of workflow engine to execute models of processes. The models can be edited by persons not experienced in programming (e.g. and distributed objects Software modules that are designed to work together but reside in multiple computer systems in a private network or on the global Internet. A program in one machine sends a message to an object in a remote machine to perform some processing. for automating semiconductor manufacturing processes. It is easily configured and is supported by an extensive library of completed equipment interfaces, workflows and activities. Further, SMART-Station is robust and fault tolerant The ability to continue non-stop when a hardware failure occurs. A fault-tolerant system is designed from the ground up for reliability by building multiples of all critical components, such as CPUs, memories, disks and power supplies into the same computer. . These features translate into quick production ramps and low cost of ownership for customers. 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 most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and annual report to shareholders. About Asyst: The pioneer of the Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF), Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of automated material handling systems and software critical to seamless factory automation in the most advanced fabs worldwide. Asyst's comprehensive solutions, which include industry-leading 200 mm and 300 mm product offerings, result in greater fab profitability and productivity. Hine Design Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , designs and manufactures precision substrate handling equipment for vacuum, atmospheric and corrosive environments. Asyst's homepage is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.asyst.com |
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