Ventex Continues to Expand Market Share in Europe

Ventex, the world's premier supplier of refurbished Canon, ASML, and Nikon lithography steppers, announced today that it has recently completed a major DUV stepper refurbishment and installation project for a tier-one chip manufacturer in Germany.

The advanced Canon DUV lithography stepper was refurbished in Ventex's refurbishment facility located in San Jose, California. After refurbishment, the Canon stepper was shipped to the customer in Germany, where it was installed and qualified by Ventex's field service and process engineering teams.

Ventex will support this installation from its Customer Service Center in Coburg, Germany.

'We are very pleased that Ventex was selected as the vendor of choice to deliver this turnkey DUV stepper solution for a major, tier-one chip manufacturer in Germany,' said Jay Bukant, Vice-President of Operations. 'We are now providing both 365nm and 248nm cost-reduction solutions to this customer, as well as other customers worldwide.'

'We expect to continue our investment and growth in the European market. European customers are increasingly recognizing the strategic advantage of working with Ventex to develop cost-reduction solutions for Canon, ASML, and Nikon lithography platforms for both i-line and DUV applications,' added Bukant.

The successful awarding and completion of this DUV project is the latest milestone in a strategic growth plan kicked off by the company sixteen months ago to meet increasing demand for its products and services. Other successfully accomplished milestones include adding several industry veterans to the management team, the establishment of a Customer Service Center in Taiwan and Germany, and a product portfolio expansion to include refurbished ASML and Nikon lithography steppers, scanners, and support services. These portfolio expansions are in addition to Ventex's established competence in providing refurbished Canon lithography steppers, scanners, and support services. With high OEM prices, reduced budgets, and global competitive pressures, the semiconductor industry's demand for refurbished lithography equipment has increased dramatically over the past several years and Ventex's strategic growth plan is designed to position the company as the vendor of choice to meet this demand.