July 17, 2002 — Surface Technology Systems plc (STS), a Newport, England-based provider of specialist plasma etch and deposition systems for MEMS development and other applications, has signed a joint marketing agreement with Xactix Inc., a Pittsburgh-based developer of equipment for making MEMS.

The agreement, according to Andrew McQuarrie, STS executive vice president, is to bridge the gap between R&D and production. “Xactix has a very good line of R&D-based equipment,” he said. “STS is focused more on the production end.”

The deal gives the two vendors the ability to provide one-stop shopping. “It’s been one of the major things that people ask us about,” said David Springer, executive vice president of Xactix: “So I buy the Xetch (Xactix’s R&D product). What will my options be when I get to production?”