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SEZ Announces Order From Major Chinese Foundry
Company Opens Office in China to Provide Localized Support to Growing Customer Base
VILLACH, Austria and ZURICH, Switzerland, March 17, 2004?The SEZ Group (SWX: SEZN), the market leader and premier innovator in single-wafer wet-processing technology for the semiconductor industry, today announced it has received a follow-on order for several SEZ spin-processor systems from a major Chinese foundry. The systems are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2004. The company also reported that another leading Chinese foundry has become the industry?s first manufacturer to install the newest tool within SEZ?s Da Vinci? Series of single-wafer, high-throughput solutions?the DV-28F?for evaluation.
According to Herwig Petschnig, chief operating officer of SEZ Asia Pacific, this latest customer order and beta-test win underscore the continuing confidence among today?s leading foundries in SEZ?s single-wafer wet-processing solutions and award-winning customer support. ?Specifically, as the latest addition to our advanced Da Vinci product line, the DV-28F is poised to help the industry meet the demanding challenges associated with processing and handling wafers at the 90-nm and below technology nodes,? stated Petschnig. ?We see a strong shift from traditional batch process methods to single-wafer wet processing. With superior process performance, low cost of ownership and proven reliability of our cutting-edge products, we are confident in continuing our growth in the strategically important China foundry market.?
The company also announced today that it has opened a customer-support office in Shanghai, China to improve and expand support for its growing customer base in this key market, which has emerged as the world?s fastest growing integrated circuit (IC) consumer market. By establishing a local presence in China, SEZ will be able to streamline the efficiency of its support services and rapidly respond to its customers? needs. The new office will support administrative, finance, management and logistics (spare parts) functions, as well as house process and service engineers, and technical and sales support personnel. SEZ will continue to leverage its partnership with KD Technology Ltd. (Shanghai)?its China sales partner?to increase the company?s reach in this region.
Petschnig added, "Establishing SEZ China underscores our commitment to this market and the strategic importance we give to our customers in China. We already have a technical staff of more than 10 employees, and with a spare parts improvement program, we can focus on providing the highest level of customer service and support to this region, where we hold more than 75 percent market share of the single-wafer wet processing market.?
DV-28F
As part of SEZ's strategy to maintain and enhance its technological and market leadership, the company's Da Vinci series is the industry's highest throughput single-wafer, wet-processing solution for back-end-of-line (BEOL) polymer removal for high-volume manufacturing applications. The
DV-28F is the newest addition to this series, and is a multi-chamber system that performs BEOL etch residue polymer removal on 200-mm wafers. Capable of processing up to eight wafers simultaneously, the system is designed to achieve maximum throughput and low CoO for 90-nm and below technology nodes.
SEZ China Office
SEZ's China office is located at:
25D, No. 138 Pudong Avenue
Pudong, Shanghai, China 200120
Tel: + (021) 5882-1908
Fax: + (021) 5882-2098
Email: h.benron@sg.sez.com
About SEZ Group
SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer, wet-processing solutions for the global semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 750 tools. The company maintains operations in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Japan and North America. SEZ Holding AG is traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.sez.com
Da Vinci is a trademark of SEZ.
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