Taipei, Taiwan, September 12, 2000 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: ASYT), the world's largest semiconductor fab automation company, today announced it will feature a wide range of its advanced products-with a strong emphasis on 300mm offerings-at this week's SEMICON Taiwan 2000 exposition. Asyst will introduce to the Taiwan market its new FasTrack™ automated fab transport system designed specifically for transporting 300mm wafers, and will offer in-person demos of other key products optimized for the 300mm era. Among these will be the Asyst Plus™ Portal automated front end, the SMS™ (substrate management system) automated wafer management tool, and the SMIF-Pod™ front-opening unified pod (FOUP).

To further bolster already strong relationships with its customers in this important region, Asyst has recently expanded its local presence via two new offices. The company has moved its Taiwan headquarters to a larger space in Hsin-Chu City (10,000 ft²), offering greatly increased storage and product demonstration capacity. In addition, Asyst has opened an office in Taiwan City, close to the new and rapidly growing Taiwan Science Industrial Park (TSIP), to provide enhanced service and support to customers with facilities there. This includes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which earlier this year purchased a complete Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF) system solution intended for TSMC's Fab 6, the first fab to be built at TSIP, and other new fabs planned in the new area.

Said Kenneth Leung, Asyst vice president, Asia-Pacific operations, "Taiwan has rapidly developed as a key market for Asyst. We currently hold a significant majority of the available market for automation products in the region. We have achieved this success by working very hard to develop close customer relationships based on mutual trust, strategic development programs, and an in-depth understanding of customer needs. As a result, we have direct access to the technology decision-makers, with whose input we are able to customize our products to meet those needs. With the rapid onset of the 300mm era, we look forward to continuing partnerships with our customers in this vital region."

Asyst Products Featured at SEMICON Taiwan

• FasTrack Wafer Transport System - FasTrack represents Asyst's entry into the wafer fab transport market. Designed specifically for interbay and intrabay transport of 300mm wafers throughout the fab, FasTrack is based on continuous-flow transport technology, which is designed to be faster, more flexible and more cost-effective than car-based systems. A video demo of this new system-for which Asyst has already received initial orders-will be shown in Asyst's booth.
• Plus Portal 300mm - The Plus Portal is a complete, turnkey front-end solution for OEM tools. An outgrowth of Asyst's work with chipmakers to design powerful interfaces between production equipment and SMIF/minienvironment products, the Plus Portal can speed OEMs' time to market while accelerating time to full-fab automation for global chipmakers.
• SMS 300mm - The SMS family of high-productivity wafer sorters are used by semiconductor device manufacturers to manipulate and identify wafers. SMS is a fully automated platform designed to ensure that wafers remain in a Class 0.1 environment during all fab process steps. By implementing this "hands-off" approach, manufacturers can reduce handling-induced scratches and contamination, as well as protect against misprocessing errors, thereby increasing yield.
• SMIF-Pod 300mm with SMART-Tag™ ST-8400 - The Asyst 300mm FOUP leverages the experience and proprietary technology of Asyst's SMIF-Pod product family to deliver a clean, reliable and cost-effective wafer carrier solution for 300mm wafer fab customers. The new SMART-Tag™ ST-8400, a microcomputer with a liquid crystal display and two-way infrared communications, is part of the Asyst STS. It replaces paper travelers on wafer lots for automated management of factory floor work-in-process and guides product through the factory by supplying lot information directly to operators.
• 200mm Reticle SMIF-Pod (RSP) - The 200mm RSP is designed for automated handling, transport and storage of 6- and 9-inch reticles, both within the mask shop and between the mask shop and the semiconductor fab.
• VersaPort™ 2200 - Ergonomically designed to easily integrate the SMIF contamination control technology for unloading and loading all 200mm SMIF pods, the VersaPort™ 2200 is an advanced load port opener. Its sophisticated features include laser-based cassette slot/wafer mapping, cross-slotted detection, wafer protrusion sensing and automatic wafer reseating.

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, semiconductor industry cycles, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's recent 10Q quarterly report on file with the Securities Exchange Commission.

About Asyst:
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of manufacturing automation systems that enable semiconductor makers to protect their valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Asyst offers a broad range of 200mm and 300mm products that enable the Company to provide semiconductor manufacturers and OEMs automated manufacturing solutions for the transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line.