Brooks Automation Achieves Rapid Growth in Atmospheric Robotics, Leading to Major Milestone in Robotics Sales.

Business/Technology Editors

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2001

Brooks Automation, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKS), a leading supplier of tool and factory hardware and software automation solutions for the global semiconductor industry, today announced that it shipped its 10,000th robot to Lam Research Corporation, a leading supplier of plasma (dry) etch, fully integrated polishing and cleaning and post-CMP cleaner systems used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The 10,000th multi-axis robot was supplied by Brooks Automation's manufacturing operations group located at corporate headquarters in Chelmsford, MA.

Brooks has been delivering robotics for semiconductor material, information display and magnetic storage device handling for nearly 20 years. In 1997, Brooks introduced the MagnaTran(TM) 7 vacuum robot. With its patented direct magnetic drive technology, Time Optimal Trajectory(TM), and patented Leapfrog(TM) arm, the MagnaTran 7 has established new industry benchmarks for throughput, reliability and vacuum performance. As a result, the MagnaTran 7 has further solidified Brooks' market leadership in vacuum robotics. According to recent figures published by Gartner/Dataquest, Brooks vacuum robots accounted for almost 90% of the merchant market in 2000.

In 2000, Brooks introduced the Reliance ATR family of atmospheric robots by applying its leading edge, field proven vacuum robot technology to 300mm and bridge tool atmospheric applications. The modularity and flexibility of the Reliance Series 8 controller enables comprehensive EFEM (Equipment Front-End Module) component control over a DeviceNet(TM) network, making it the cornerstone of Brooks' FabExpress(TM) family of EFEMs, as well as for OEM customers who have assumed responsibility for their own EFEM integration. As a result, the Reliance ATR family has already received design-in wins at over 17 OEMs including three of the top five OEM tool EFEMs.

The expandability of the Reliance Series 8 architecture enables up to six axes of motion control required to target new EFEM and atmospheric process applications. This includes the Reliance 4/5 Axis robot that is being introduced at SEMICON West. This robot is ideal for applications requiring combinations of vacuum grip, active edge grip, wafer inversion and fast swap.

"It is only fitting that our 10,000th robot shipment went to Lam Research. It's indicative of the partnership that has formed between our companies, and of Lam's decision to use Brooks technology to handle its 300mm wafer handling requirements," said Robert J. Therrien, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brooks Automation, Inc.

"Brooks' robotics have been a central part of Lam's wafer handling automation for several generations of our tools. Their responsiveness to our needs and commitment to innovative technology have made them a valuable partner in the evolution of our products," said Nick Bright, Vice President and General Manager of Lam's Etch Division.

About Brooks Automation, Inc.

Brooks Automation, Inc. is the leading global supplier of OEM tool automation and factory management software for the semiconductor, data storage and flat panel display manufacturing industries. As an established market leader in hardware and software automation, Brooks continues to pioneer "Best-in-Class" technologies that outperform their competitors - from vacuum and atmospheric robots, cluster tool platforms and modules, ultra-clean mini-environments for isolating processing equipment and wafers - to factory and tool automation software and integration services. Both OEM and fab customers leverage Brooks Automation's products and environments. The Company has ISO 9001 certification, is headquartered in Chelmsford, MA and has direct operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Brooks' web-site is www.brooks.com.

About Lam Research Corporation

Lam Research Corporation is a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the world's semiconductor industry. In particular, Lam is a technical leader in etch products and expects similar acceptance for its Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) product and applications. The Company also offers next generation solutions for CMP cleaning. Lam is headquartered in Fremont, CA and maintains more than 40 customer support centers throughout the United States, Japan, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Lam's common stock trades on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol LRCX. The Company's web site is www.lamrc.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The foregoing discussion contains forward-looking statements related to the expected benefits of the sale of Brooks Automation products to Lam Research Corporation. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks relating to the Company's dependence on the cyclical semiconductor industry, the Company's dependence on relatively few customers for a significant portion of its revenues, the Company's reliance on sales to OEM customers and the lengthy sales cycles of those customers, the ability of the Company to continue to successfully develop and market new products and product enhancements on a timely basis, the ability to integrate recent acquisitions into the Company, the highly competitive nature and rapid technological change that characterize the industries in which the Company competes, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Company's future results will not be materially different than those projected. The Company also operates in an industry sector where securities' values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond the Company's control. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only of the Company's expectations as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.