June 7, 2005 – STEAG HamaTech USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of STEAG HamaTech, Sternenfels, Germany, will be expanding its presence in Austin, TX, with an initiative to strengthen US infrastructure capabilities for installed base customer support for photomask process equipment, as well as product development for niche wafer applications.

Target wafer markets include 300mm advanced packaging photolithography processes for coat, bake, and develop, as well as supplemental wafer bump wet processes. The Austin group will take up the acronym name SHAPE USA to emphasize its new image and capability. The current Austin facility will double in size with half of additional space allocated to engineering offices and half to manufacturing, final test, and shipping wafer platforms destined for worldwide markets.

Although SHAPE USA will independently develop new wafer platform designs, CAD engineering files will be seamlessly integrated with German headquarters to facilitate real-time design improvements common to both photomask and wafer platforms.

“I am very excited about our SHAPE USA initiative because it will not only offer us the opportunity to expand our markets and product offering”, says Uwe Dietze, CEO of STEAG HamaTech USA’s Austin operations, “but it also gives us additional depth and breadth for engineering solutions and product support to our key US photomask customers.”