Fremont, CA, February 4, 1997 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYT), the leading supplier of SMIF-based technology and automation systems to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced ProMos Semiconductor, Inc. -- a joint venture between Siemens Semiconductor and Mosel Semiconductor in Taiwan -- has placed a series of orders exceeding $6 million. The Asyst SMIF-based solutions, which began shipping in December 1996, will be installed at ProMos' new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) fab in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Asyst reports that it was selected based on its advanced manufacturing solutions and its ability to ramp-up quickly to meet the ultraclean manufacturing requirements for ProMos' new Taiwan facility. Providing a better-than-Class 1 manufacturing environment, the Asyst minienvironment and wafer management systems will be used to produce 64-Mb DRAMs.

Scheduled to process over 50,000 wafers per month within the next five years, the new ProMos fab utilizes proven manufacturing strategies and equipment. ProMos President Dr. Nasa Tsai stated, "SMIF systems from Asyst demonstrated in Mosel Fab 2 the advanced manufacturing capabilities we require for this new facility. This, combined with Asyst's comprehensive product offering and flexible customer support made them the logical choice for our new facility."

Kenneth Leung, Asyst's vice president of Asian-Pacific operations, commented that this order demonstrates Asyst's ability to readily address the specific needs of the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and DRAM manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific market. "Our customers in this competitive region require advanced manufacturing solutions," said Leung.

"The production goals for this facility demand an automated, state-of-the-art SMIF solution that will help speed time-to-market-helping to optimize the investment in this joint venture. We are pleased to help bring this new fab on-line, and look forward to continuing to help ProMos meet its manufacturing goals," added Leung.

Shipments of the Asyst SMIF-LPTTM (Load Port Transfer) systems, a significant portion of the ProMos orders, are currently underway. Asyst reports that in the fiscal third quarter it received orders from production facilities around the globe for a large number of SMIF-LPT systems. Asyst SMIF solutions are now installed in 44 fabs worldwide and Asyst has partnered with more than 90 original equipment manufacturers.

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of material control systems that help semiconductor manufacturers improve their integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing productivity. The company's Asyst-SMIFTM System combines state-of-the-art minienvironments with advanced robotics to create ultraclean processing environments that are both comprehensive and flexible. The SMART-TravelerTM System (STS) works in tandem with SMIF to eliminate misprocessing. Both Asyst-SMIF and its companion STS products are integral to seamless factory automation. Asyst Software, Inc., is dedicated to the development of software products for equipment communications and automated material handling, identification and tracking. Founded in 1984, Asyst Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, CA, with facilities in Europe and the Far East. Asyst Software is located in San Jose, CA The company's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol ASYT.

About SMIF
SMIF stands for Standard Mechanical InterFace, the material handling approach that enables wafer transfer to and from sealed SMIF environments without exposure to cleanroom ambient conditions. SEMI standards exist for 150- and 200mm wafer sizes and are now being defined for 300mm.