Nov. 26, 2001 – Rehovoth, Israel – Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. is taking further cost-cutting measures, including another 10% work force reduction, additional employee salary reductions of up to 10% and a 15% salary reduction for senior management, and further reduction of outsourcing, travel and communication expenses.

These cuts follow the company’s initial round of cost cuts in June.

Nova said its investment in new integrated process control (IPC) products and solutions continues. In this quarter, the company has received and begun delivery of multiple orders from China. Additional orders had been received for the recently released 300mm system, the NovaScan 3030, for advanced 0.13-micron CMP processes.

“The current market conditions continue to impact our business but with these additional measures, and our strong balance sheet, we feel that the company can safely manage through this downturn. We expect market opportunity when conditions change, and with Nova’s offering of new IPC products we continue to develop and penetrate the different market segments. We are especially encouraged by the significant penetration to China by the orders for our new 300mm systems and by the successful ongoing evaluations for our photolithography integrated systems,” said Giora Dishon, president and CEO of Nova.