Barry Rapozo, President of TEA, Wins Prestigious Industry Award.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2001

Barry Rapozo, president of Tokyo Electron America Inc. (TEA), a subsidiary of Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL), was today presented with the Bob Graham Award for Sales and Marketing Excellence at the 2001 SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The Bob Graham award honors an individual or team for outstanding contributions to customers through creating or implementing value-added marketing programs which enhance customer value and further the growth of the equipment or materials industry. This is only the second time this award has been presented. Rapozo's early contributions to new concepts in sales process, sales training and cultural bridge-building made him an obvious choice for this award.

During the award presentation, G. Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research Inc., stated that "Barry is famous for introducing and promoting relationship-based selling. His primary objective was to use sales as a way to better serve the customer, knowing the end result would be more sales."

Rapozo's view on sales is that, "The primary customer benefits of selling are achieved when the sales professional has the core principles of integrity and honesty. It is important to always tell the truth. I always teach that the single most important thing you can do is to tell the customer what you can't do. Everybody else will only say what they can do...and most will overcommit their true capabilities. It is how we respond to this that ultimately builds trust with the customer. Credibility is such an important word. Corporations are made of people and people have long memories. You can spend your whole career undoing simple mistakes."

Rapozo has been active in the semiconductor industry for over 32 years, holding key sales and marketing positions with industry leaders such as GCA Corp, Kasper Instruments, Eaton, TRE, KLA and Tokyo Electron America Inc. (TEA). He joined TEA in April of 1997 as the president. Under his leadership, TEA's domestic sales have quadrupled. When asked about Rapozo's contributions to the industry, his peers said, "Barry is the best salesman I have ever seen," and "He is the hallmark of the industry." Rapozo's sales savvy may be attributed, in part, to his understanding of the importance of securing the respect and trust of potential customers and partners early in the sales cycle.

In his acceptance speech, Rapozo said, "Receiving the Bob Graham award means a great deal to me. Bob was a man who brought new meaning to the term 'marketing and sales'...it is a great honor to receive this award and I am truly grateful to all who make it possible."

TEL, established in 1963, is a leading supplier of innovative semiconductor and LCD production equipment worldwide. Product lines include coater/developers, oxidation/diffusion furnaces, dry etchers, CVD systems, sputtering systems (PVD), wet cleaning systems, and test systems. In Japan, TEL distributes other leading edge semiconductor equipment tools, such as metrology tools or process control systems. In addition, TEL distributes high quality computer systems, semiconductor devices and electronic components of other leading suppliers, as well as computer network related products from around the world.

To support this diverse product base, TEL has strategically located research & development, manufacturing, sales, and service locations in 14 countries across Asia, North America, and Europe. TEL estimates that revenues in this fiscal year will exceed 690 billion yen, or more than 6.5 billion dollars. TEL is a publicly held company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. http://www.tel.co.jp