Varian Semiconductor Wins Best Vendor Support Award From KEC Corporation.

Business Editors

GLOUCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2002

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSEA), the leading supplier of ion implantation systems, today announced it has received the Best Vendor Support Award from KEC Corporation, a major supplier of chips such as SSTR, Power TR and bipolar integrated circuits. Yong-Kil Kim, vice president and general manager of Asia operations, accepted the award on behalf of Varian Semiconductor.

"For over 17 years, Varian Semiconductor led the industry in providing customized support and stable up-time for our existing tools," said In-Hee Lee, President of KEC Corporation. "As a result of their strong commitment to customer satisfaction, we are pleased to express our appreciation with this award."

Varian Semiconductor currently supports a number of systems at KEC Corporation, where the company has an installed base of medium current and high current implanters. Commenting on the two companies' efforts, Yong-Kil Kim said, "Varian Semiconductor and KEC Corporation have had a strong relationship since the installation of our first system in 1984. We are indeed honored by KEC's Best Vendor Support Award, and we want to thank them for acknowledging Varian Semiconductor's customer support efforts with this esteemed honor."

About Varian Semiconductor

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates is the leading producer of ion implantation equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors. The company is headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and operates worldwide. Varian Semiconductor maintains a web site at www.vsea.com. The information contained in the company's web site is not incorporated by reference into this release, and the web site address is included in this release as an inactive textual reference only.

About KEC Corporation

KEC (www.keccorp.com) is a major supplier of semiconductors for companies focusing on discrete and analog IC's worldwide. Established 30 years ago, KEC designs, develops and provides customers with broadband products including small-signal devices, power drive devices and A/V system IC's used in digital consumer devices, mobile equipments and automotive products. Headquartered in Seoul, Korea, KEC operates fabs in Gumi, Korea, and two overseas assembly factories located in Thailand and China.

Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, the statements concerning the company's expectations regarding the customer discussed in this release, market share and technology leadership, technological capabilities and benefits are forward-looking statements and any statements using the terms "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important risks and factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These include, among others, volatility in the semiconductor equipment industry; economic conditions in general and as they affect the company's customers; significant fluctuations in the company's quarterly operating results; the impact of rapid technological change; the company's dependence on the development and introduction of new products; the company's concentration on ion implantation systems and related products; concentration in the company's customer base and lengthy sales cycles; the highly competitive market in which the company competes; risks of international sales; foreign currency risks; and general economic conditions; and other factors identified in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievement. The company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.