FREMONT, Calif., October 18, 2006--Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT), a leading provider of integrated automation solutions that enhance semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing productivity, announced today that it has received Spartan Sorter orders totaling $5 million from Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. (Hynix), Hynix-ST Semiconductor, Ltd. (HSSL) and an additional China-based semiconductor manufacturer.

Asyst has received orders from Hynix for its Fab M10, a production facility, and R3, a new 300mm R&D facility, both in Icheon, South Korea.  The HSSL order is for its new 300mm fab in Wuxi, China, which marks Asyst’s first Spartan Sorter win in China.  Since the HSSL order, Asyst also received its first Spartan Sorter order from a second Chinese fab.  Asyst has shipped more than 175 Spartan Sorters to date to 18 300mm fabs throughout the world.

“We initially chose Asyst’s Spartan Sorter for Fab M10 over a year ago and are extremely happy with the results,” said Shim Hyun Bo, Director, System Infrastructure, Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.  “The Spartan Sorter’s cleanliness, high reliability and low cost-of-ownership made it an easy choice when selecting for our new fabs.”

“Hynix’s selection of our Spartan Sorter for their follow-on order and new fab is yet further validation for this technology,” said Paula LuPriore, vice president and general manager, software, solutions and factory interface products, of Asyst.  “In just two years of production, we have seen rapid adoption of the Spartan among most of the industry's major manufacturers.  Customers like Hynix continue to realize the tremendous benefits that the Spartan Sorter has to offer.”

The Spartan Sorter provides leading 300mm performance with the lowest demonstrated particle performance for better than Class 1 cleanliness, high reliability for fast start-up times and unique, integrated NexEDA™ software for easy fab integration.   

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. 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, the possibility that customers will change, delay delivery, or cancel orders of our products; our ability to achieve expected customer benefits through our products’ performance; and other factors more fully detailed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2005, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Asyst and Spartan are registered trademarks of Asyst Technologies, Inc.  NexEDA is a trademark of Asyst Technologies, Inc.  All rights reserved.