December 10, 2001 — PHOENIX, AZ — Sumitomo Sitix of Phoenix announced has chosen to renew its contract with locally owned and operated Sierra Scientific for another 3-5 years.

“Sierra (Scientific) has a proven record of reducing cost by introducing innovative ideas and improved, lower cost products on a

consistent basis. I believe Sierra demonstrates qualities and attributes synonymous with a world class distributor,” said Dave Fruth, purchasing manager for Sumitomo.

The bid process, released in October involved 6 distributors, according to Fruth.

“We carefully analyzed each proposal and selected three distributors to make a final presentation. All three suppliers would have been very capable of handling our account and in the end it was a difficult decision. Sierra’s “cost plus” contract with their proven history of driving out cost with items such as their own Value-Tek Brand and recycle options on various products, pushed them over the top for this contract award,” Fruth said.

Sierra was awarded Sumitomo’s clean room consumable contract in

November of 1996 with a five-year agreement. The new multi-million dollar award will extend to at least January of 2005.

Sumitomo Sitix of Phoenix manufactures prime, 8″ silicon wafers for the

semiconductor industry. Sumitomo began production of wafers in January of 1997. Sumitomo has manufacturing facilities in Japan, California, New Mexico, and Ohio, as well as the new facility in Phoenix.