BOC Edwards Receives Exhaust Management, Vacuum System Order from Powerchip.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- BOC Edwards (NYSE:BOX) (LSE:BOC), a leading supplier of vacuum equipment to the world's 300 mm semiconductor fabs, has received US$5 million in equipment orders from Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC), Taiwan. BOC Edwards will supply iH Series dry vacuum pumps and abatement devices for Powerchip's 300 mm DRAM Fab12B. Shipments and installation will be phased through the second and third quarters of 2005.

"PSC selected the iH Series because of its proven capability on a range of 300 mm semiconductor applications, and with total cost of ownership matched to the customers' operating conditions," said Neil Lavender-Jones, regional director, BOC Edwards, Asia. "They also depend on our extensive on-site service and pump rebuild facilities located in close proximity to customer sites."

Diffusion processes create a significant abatement challenge as their exhaust streams are often associated with large flows of pyrophoric gases, requiring reliable, high-performance abatement solutions. The thermal processing units to be supplied with this order can combust large silane flows and destroy toxic and corrosive compounds such as chlorine trifluoride (ClF3).

"Because BOC Edwards' abatement devices-in this instance, thermal conditioning systems and thermal processing units-comprise the gas treatment system used in process manufacturing, they are an ideal choice for customers facing the challenges associated with the diffusion step in chip manufacture," said Lavender-Jones.

BOC Edwards, part of The BOC Group is a leading supplier of materials, process-enabling subsystems and services to fabs and OEMs involved in the manufacture of microelectronics devices. Serving two million customers in more than 50 countries, The BOC Group is one of the largest and most global of the world's leading gases companies, with annual sales of GBP 4.6 billion (more than US$8 billion) in 2004. Information on the BOC Group can be accessed by visiting the Group web site, www.boc.com. Specific information on BOC Edwards can be found at www.bocedwards.com. E-mail inquiries can be sent to [e-mail].

Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) is the leading commercial memory chip manufacturer in Taiwan. It was established in Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park in December 1994. PSC gained a technological sector listing on the Taiwan GreTai Security Market, and issued a Global Depository Receipt (GDR) in 1999, becoming the first Taiwan-listed company to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

NOTE TO EDITORS: In the third paragraph, the 3 at the end of ClF3 should be subscript. This symbol may not appear properly in some systems.