European Test Technology Centre to Open At Alba.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

EDINBURGH, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 2000

Scottish Enterprise announced today (9 November 2000) that it is to work in partnership with Test Advantage, a global test services company, to open a semiconductor test technology centre at the Alba Centre, Livingston.

Test Advantage, Ltd. will employ up to 15 engineers at the new Centre, which will provide a key element in the infrastructure to support the semiconductor design and manufacturing industry in Scotland and across Europe.

The Centre will provide test facilities to companies and educational resources to the Institute for System Level Integration (ISLI), also based at the Alba Centre, supporting ISLI's development of a new MSc programme in Test Engineering.

The project was developed by Scottish Enterprise and Locate in Scotland working closely with Test Advantage and the Institute for System Level Integration.

Fabrice Dechoux, President and Chief Executive Officer of Test Advantage, said: "We have been planning to open a European test technology facility for some time, and this location at Alba makes a lot of sense, especially when one considers the strong growth in SOC and mixed signal technologies. We already have a strong presence at several European customers, and look forward to adding to these relationships as we increase our local capabilities."

Capri DeModica, Test Advantage's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer commented, "We are excited about launching our first venture in Scotland, where we see an excellent supply of the talent and resources necessary for our success. We have already made several strategic local hires and will shortly be announcing details of the organization and its capabilities."

Parent company, Test Advantage Holding, LLC, has formed a new corporate entity in Scotland, Test Advantage Limited, for the purpose of establishing the semiconductor test technology center.

Test Advantage Ltd. will operate the test technology centre, and will develop the infrastructure and resources to support both the educational goals at Alba as well as the local and European semiconductor industry. It will accommodate state-of-the-art automatic test equipment plus a team with significant expertise in testing "system on chip" (SOC) and mixed-signal semiconductor devices. The Institute for System Level Integration will have access to these resources, enabling it to undertake research into test methodologies capable of matching the increasing complexity of chip design. The centre will also offer test development, chip debug, prototype characterization, and pre-production test services to the European semiconductor design and manufacturing industry.

Welcoming the announcement, Robert Crawford, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said: "I am delighted to welcome Test Advantage to Scotland. Test technology is a vital component of design within the semiconductor development process. With the establishment of this test technology centre at Alba, we have another building block in place towards the infrastructure necessary to support our growing semiconductor design industry. This project is an excellent example of the various parts of the Scottish Enterprise Network working effectively together to secure this kind of investment."

Professor Steve Beaumont, Director of ISLI, said, "There is a substantial shortage of electronic engineers interested in semiconductor test engineering. The education programmes, research and promotional activities planned by ISLI from January 2001 will help industry to recruit and train the highly skilled people it needs. Test Advantage's establishment in Scotland provides ISLI with an excellent opportunity to develop practical elements of test for use in our education programmes. We look forward to making the most of this relationship."

Carl Togneri, Director Semiconductors for Scottish Enterprise, said: "The window of opportunity for a product on to the market is shortening and consequently reducing the time-to-market is a critical focus. Whereas test in the past has been tackled sequentially, the complexity involved in the design of modern integrated circuits now demands that test is concurrent with the design process. The creation of a test infrastructure is seen as supportive of the industry to ensure that design leads to "right first time" products."

David Crichton, Chief Executive of SE Edinburgh and Lothian with responsibility for the Alba Centre, said: "Each new arrival on the Alba Campus reinforces it as a global hub for the development of microelectronic technology. I am delighted to welcome Test Advantage Ltd. to the Campus and Scotland."

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. System on Chip technology allows companies to create new silicon

products and bring them to market more quickly. As soon as first

silicon is ready, it is essential that test capability be in place

to validate the design and deliver a characterized, functional

chip to the end customer as quickly as possible.

2. Test Advantage is a privately held corporation headquartered in

Tempe, Arizona, USA. Founded in 1997, Test Advantage provides

semiconductor test solutions, including refurbished automated test

equipment and engineering and test services to the global

semiconductor industry from locations in Tempe, AZ; Munich,

Germany; and Singapore. The company's customer base includes many

of the industry's leading chipmakers including ASE Test (Nasdaq:

ASTSF); Atmel Corp. (Nasdaq: ATML); IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM);

Motorola Inc.(NYSE: MOT); Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN); and

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM). Further information is available

on www.testadvantage.com

3. The Alba Centre is the hub of a Scottish initiative aimed at

driving the future of electronic design. It represents a unique

collaboration involving government, industry and academia to

create a world-leading centre for the electronic and related

design industries of the future. More information can be found at

www.albacentre.com

4. Formally established in October 1998, the ISLI is a collaboration

of four leading Universities - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and

Strathclyde. The Institute combines the research and teaching

strengths of seven University Departments with those of its own

academic and industry experts to support world-class research,

postgraduate education and professional training activities.

www.sli-institute.ac.uk

5. In the year ended March 2000, Locate in Scotland and the Scottish

Executive helped to attract to Scotland 91 inward investment

projects involving planned investment of (pound)650 million and

the expected creation of, or safeguarding of more than 19,000

jobs.

6. Scottish Enterprise is the main economic development agency for

Scotland covering 93% of the population from Grampian to the

Borders. The Scottish Enterprise Network consists of Scottish

Enterprise and 13 Local Enterprise Companies. Working in

partnership with the private and public sectors the Network aims

to build more and better businesses, to develop the skills and

knowledge of Scottish people, and to encourage innovation to make

Scottish business internationally competitive. The Scottish

Enterprise Network Strategy has set four main goals for the

Scottish economy, including helping Scotland to develop and foster

innovative, farsighted organisations. Further information on LIS 

and Scottish Enterprise is available on

www.scottish-enterprise.com