Mr. Schwartz joins Asyst from Applied Materials, where he has had over thirteen years' experience. Most recently he served as President of Consilium, an Applied Materials Company. Mr. Schwartz had also served as Vice President and General Manager of Applied's Global Service Business and General Manager of their High Temperature Films Division. Mr. Schwartz holds Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. In addition, he holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business. He is a 1999 recipient of the Outstanding Electrical Engineer, Purdue University.

"Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Asyst organization," noted Dr. Parikh. "By combining the product groups (product marketing and dedicated technical resources) with global fulfillment (manufacturing and supply chain functions) under a single, focused senior executive, we believe we can make significant enhancements to our customers' level of satisfaction. His proven operations management skills, honed at technology and industry leader Applied Materials, coupled with his business acumen, will help to promote our future positioning and strengthen the company's infrastructure." Parikh concluded, "We are delighted to have Steve on board and look forward to his contributions to Asyst's future leadership position."

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of isolation and automation technologies that enable semiconductor makers to protect their valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Through this "Value-Assured Fab" strategy, Asyst offers a broad range of 200mm and 300mm solutions that enable the safe transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line throughout the IC fabrication process, preventing human, environmental, mechanical and chemical harm. Encompassing robotics, portals, wafer and reticle carriers, connectivity and interface products, and transport and loading products, Asyst's modular, interoperable solutions allow chipmakers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities that best suit their needs.