Carl Zeiss Selects Metron Technology to Represent Microelectronic Systems Products in Europe.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

JENA, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2000

The Microelectronic Systems division of the Carl Zeiss Semiconductor Technology business group has transferred sales and service activities for its wafer and mask inspection microscope systems in Europe (excluding Germany and The Netherlands) to Metron Technology. The agreement will become effective as of April 1, 2000. This decision follows the successful transition of sales, marketing and service support of Carl Zeiss microelectronics division products to Metron Technology in the U.S., where a similar agreement has been in place since July 1999.

Hellmuth Aeugle, Vice President and General Manager of Microelectronic Systems for Carl Zeiss, stated, "With Metron, we are very pleased to have found a powerful partner to cover the European market. This agreement will clearly strengthen our strategic position. Metron's extensive portfolio of products will give us access to customers who have been outside our reach in the past."

Going forward, Metron Technology will employ sales, service and applications personnel from the Carl Zeiss Jena microelectronics division, linking them to the Metron`s existing global infrastructure. Metron maintains technology support centers throughout Europe which are located within close proximity to semiconductor fabrication facilities. The Carl Zeiss Jena team will become an integral part of this technology support network and gain the ability to provide customers with a stream-lined, quality support solution.

Chris Levett-Prinsep, Executive Vice President of Equipment for Metron, commented, "This is a logical expansion of our existing agreement in the U.S. We expect the cooperation between Carl Zeiss and Metron to be beneficial to all our European customers. Both Carl Zeiss and Metron Technology are dedicated to supplying world class product and support to customers on a global scale."

Carl Zeiss is an innovative technology leader in the fields of optics and precision engineering. Its products include eyeglasses, binoculars, medical systems for microsurgery, microscopes as well as metrology tools for the automotive industry. The Semiconductor Technology business group develops and produces leading edge lithography systems for wafer steppers as well as inspection microscopes for defect classification (up to 300mm wafers), mask simulation and inspection tools working at deep UV and 193nm wavelengths. The product spectrum extends from high resolution stand alone microscopes to high tech review and inspection systems with automatic defect classification software (ADC). With the mask simulation systems MSM 100 (for the wavelengths 436 nm, 365 nm and 248 nm) and MSM 193 (for the wavelength 193 nm), Carl Zeiss produces unique microscope systems which make it possible to check the relevance of mask defects for the photolithography process. Further information on Carl Zeiss is on the Internet at http://www.zeiss.de.

Metron Technology N.V (NASDAQ: MTCH) is a leading global provider of marketing, sales, service and support solutions to semiconductor materials and equipment suppliers and semiconductor manufacturers. On behalf of semiconductor materials and equipment suppliers, Metron provides a broad range of materials and equipment to leading semiconductor manufacturers. This enables Metron's customers to purchase a broad range of products from a single supplier. Metron also provides semiconductor manufacturers with the ability to outsource a wide variety of fab equipment support services, such as materials management, cleanroom services and facility maintenance. These services enable Metron's customers to increase fab productivity and focus on their core competencies, such as product development, manufacturing and marketing. By partnering with Metron, Metron's principals can focus on product development and other core competencies, reduce their time to market and use Metron's global network to better compete with larger companies. Metron Technology N. V. has its headquarters in Burlingame, California, and is on the web at http://www.metrontech.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to successfully perform sales and service activities in Europe on behalf of Carl Zeiss. For a description of other risks related to Metron Technology, see Metron Technology's prospectus dated November 19, 1999 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.