Fremont, CA, December 1, 1997 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT), the leading supplier of minienvironment and SMIF-based technology to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced it has established Asyst Kabushiki Kaisha (Asyst K.K.), a majority owned Japanese company in partnership with Innotech Corp. Located in Yokohama-city, Asyst K.K. will address the growing demand for localized customer support for semiconductor manufacturers in this region, who are rapidly adopting SMIF technology.

Asyst K.K., formed through a partnership with Innotech, will allow Asyst to establish an immediate Japanese customer support presence. It will house comprehensive customer service and sales organizations, to provide faster access to new U.S. technologies in this market, thereby reducing customer response times. Asyst K.K. will sell Asyst Technologies (ATI) and Asyst Software, Inc. (ASI) products to OEMs and provide technical support to end-users, while Innotech will continue to focus on end-user sales in Japan.

According to Larry Yoshida, president of Innotech, the Asyst partnership effectively extends both companies' customer reach in this dynamic marketplace. "The Japanese market is in the initial stages of a capacity and technology evolution with the transition to 300 mm wafers, requiring the adoption of state-of-the-art automation manufacturing techniques. We are extremely pleased to partner with Asyst, the world's leading supplier of SMIF-based automation systems to address the emerging needs of Japan," remarked Yoshida.

Asyst Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mihir Parikh explained that establishing a direct presence in Japan is a strategic component of the company's plan for global growth. "Leveraging over a decade of investments in Japan and our established relationships with Japanese fabs and OEMs, we are well positioned to continue supporting this region's evolving needs. We experienced 300 percent growth during our last fiscal year in Japan, and the new Asyst K.K. will help us better address the growing customer demand for SMIF products and services," noted Parikh. Asyst Director of Japan Operations Taki Goto added, "Asyst's growth in Japan is expected to continue as 300 mm production begins to ramp up. Our Asyst SMIF-300™ Series, based on the front-opening unified pod standard (FOUP), offers the increased level of manufacturing environment control needed to help accelerate the industry's transition to 300 mm wafers."

Driving the ramp up of this new facility is Akio Watanabe, president. Asyst K.K. is located at 2-15-10, Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-city, Japan.
Telephone: (81) 45-474-8976, Fax: (81) 45-474-9032

About Innotech
Established as a distributor of semiconductor-related equipment in 1987, Innotech Corporation has played a significant role in introducing U.S. and European semiconductor production systems into Japan. Innotech not only distributes products to the Japanese marketplace, but when necessary, provides additional engineering and marketing support. Innotech has experienced rapid growth over the last year. Sales have increased to $43.5 billion as of March, 1997, up 65.4 percent over a four-year period. Innotech Corporation is headquartered in Yokohama-city, Japan.

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-SMIF™ System combines state-of-the-art minienvironments with advanced robotics to create ultraclean processing environments that are both comprehensive and flexible. The SMART-Traveler™ 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

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-, 200 - and 300 mm wafer sizes.