Cognex Corporation Enters Into $1.3 Million OEM Agreement with Alphasem AG.

Business Editors

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2002

Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, announced today that it has entered into an OEM agreement with Alphasem AG, a manufacturer of die bonding and die sorting equipment based in Berg/TG, Switzerland. Under the agreement, Alphasem expects to purchase approximately $1.3 million of Cognex's MVS 8100 machine vision systems over the next 18 months.

Alphasem will integrate the Cognex vision systems into their Swissline 902x range of die bonding and die sorting equipment. Alphasem's Die Attach series of machines are used to automatically attach semiconductor dice from wafers up to 300mm in size to metal leadframes, organic substrates and adhesive based packages (e.g. LOC/BOC for memory devices). The die sorting machines sort dice into multiple tapes or trays. The Cognex vision systems are used to inspect the bond site before the die is placed on it; to guide a robotic gripper that picks up the die and accurately places it on the site; and to inspect the die after it has been placed to ensure it has been properly bonded.

"Alphasem is a long-time customer of Cognex, and we are very pleased that they have once again chosen to design Cognex machine vision into their next-generation die bonding and sorting equipment," said Dr. Robert J. Shillman, President, CEO and Chairman of Cognex. "This agreement is another positive indication that our semiconductor OEM customers are beginning to recover from the cyclical downturn they've experienced over the last year."

Alphasem, a Dover company (NYSE: DOV), is one of the world's leading manufacturers. Alphasem designs, manufactures, and sells a complete range of semi- and fully-automatic die bonding and die sorting equipment for the semiconductor assembly industry. Its products include fully automatic die bonding systems for Ball Grid Array (BGA), Chip Scale (CSP), Flip Chip and lead frame packages, as well as unique inline assembly solutions for discrete and power devices. Alphasem's headquarters and manufacturing facility are located in Switzerland, in the countryside close to Lake Constance. It has sales and service facilities in the USA and Southeast Asia.

Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can "see." Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 150,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality. Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division, headquartered in Alameda, California, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for inspecting the surfaces of products manufactured in a continuous fashion, such as metals, paper, plastics, and non-wovens. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.