Fremont, CA, March 12, 1997 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT), the leading supplier of minienvironment and SMIF-based technology to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced the appointment of Dr. Ramesh Balakrishnan, 42, to the position of vice president of product development for Asyst's software subsidiary, Asyst Software, Inc. (ASI), located in San Jose, CA Reporting to Bill Leckonby, ASI's president, Balakrishnan will be responsible for all software development -- including overseeing product development, quality assurance, documentation and technical training staff.

According to Leckonby, Balakrishnan's extensive experience in software design was a key factor in this appointment. "Ramesh is a seasoned professional with a strong product development background in software, advanced controls and system automation," said Leckonby. "Ramesh's broad technical and management experience in bringing successful software products to market will be extremely valuable in helping us drive on-time development of ASI products," added Leckonby.

Asyst reports that ASI's growth in the past few months has increased personnel 300 percent since ASI's formation in early 1996. Balakrishnan will be chartered with helping ASI deliver standards-based factory automation, customer-focused software and formal systems integration solutions to the semiconductor and flat panel display industries. With the recent acquisition of Radiance Systems, Inc., and a marketing agreement with FASTech Integration, Inc., ASI is currently utilizing one of the industry's most comprehensive toolsets to address the need for increasing yields and lower manufacturing costs through powerful software and systems integration.

Balakrishnan was most recently application products director for Measurex Corp. (Cupertino, CA), responsible for the design, implementation and launch of Measurex's distributed measurement control and information system. Prior to that he held various product development positions at Measurex, including system architect, and product manager/principal engineer for the company's Cross Direction Control products.

Balakrishnan completed his undergraduate degree in engineering at the University of Madras (Madras, India), and his master's and Ph.D. at Stanford University. Balakrishnan currently holds 14 patents in the areas of signal processing, advanced controls, software algorithms and systems design for automation.

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of material handling 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.