Mr. Lowe, 43, has 20 years’ experience in general management, sales and business development for technology companies. From 2000 to 2003, he was president and chief executive officer of Read-Rite Corporation, a manufacturer of thin-film recording heads for disk and tape drives. He was president and chief operating officer of Read-Rite from 1997 to 2000. From 1989 to 1997, Lowe served in roles of increasing responsibility at Read-Rite, including senior vice president, customer business units, and vice president, sales. Prior to joining Read-Rite, he served in various sales positions with Microcom Corporation and IBM Corporation. He holds bachelor’s degrees in computer science and business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Steve Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Asyst, said, “Alan Lowe has a proven track record of leading large organizations to increase sales and effectively manage customer relationships in highly competitive environments. Our customers’ automation requirements are evolving and expanding because of the unique demands of 300mm manufacturing and the ongoing need for increased productivity. We are the market leader in most of our served markets, and customers increasingly are looking to Asyst for solutions that combine our capabilities in material transport, wafer handling and sorting, material tracking and identification, advanced connectivity software, and automation services. We are excited to enlist an executive of Alan’s caliber to lead our integrated response to this emerging market need. He will be an ideal complement to Warren Kocmond, chief operating officer, who will continue to focus the company on manufacturing and delivering products that meet and exceed customer requirements while driving our concurrent efforts to reduce product cost and improve profitability.”

About Asyst

Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated automation solutions that enable semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) manufacturers to increase their manufacturing productivity and protect their investment in materials during the manufacturing process. Encompassing isolation systems, work-in-process materials management, substrate-handling robotics, automated transport and loading systems, and connectivity automation software, Asyst’s modular, interoperable solutions allow chip and FPD manufacturers, as well as original equipment manufacturers, to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities that best suit their needs. Asyst’s homepage is http://www.asyst.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. The forward-looking statements include statements regarding the nature and magnitude of customer requirements and the anticipated roles and contributions of members of the management team. The forward-looking 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: the ability to increase sales through the integration of products and services, the unpredictability of sales due to competition and market factors, and other risks described in the company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 and Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2005.