GLOUCESTER, MA — (MARKET WIRE) — 06/15/2005 — Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. announced today that the Company again has achieved first place in the prestigious VLSI Research 10 BEST Award for Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment. 2005 marks the eighth time in nine years that customers have rated Varian Semiconductor best in customer satisfaction within this segment.
Varian Semiconductor received the highest scores of all large suppliers of wafer processing equipment in each of the following twelve characteristics: cost of ownership, uptime, software, build quality, usable throughput, quality of results, product performance, process support, field engineering support, spares support, support after sales and commitment.
“Winning this award for eight out of the last nine years is a tremendous accomplishment and is evidence of the customer-focus at Varian Semiconductor,” said Gary Dickerson, chief executive officer of Varian Semiconductor. “To achieve this result required outstanding execution across many aspects of our business. I want to thank all of our employees for their contribution to winning this award, and encourage everyone to continue to drive to higher levels of performance in the future. We consistently achieve the highest levels of product quality and support because of our unwavering commitment to providing customers with highly productive, innovative tools and value-added programs that increase the performance and productivity of the installed base of products in the field. This award reflects our customers’ vote of confidence in the products and services they receive from Varian Semiconductor and we are honored to be acknowledged again for providing the highest customer satisfaction in the industry.”
“Once again, Varian Semiconductor earned the number one position in our 10 BEST Large Suppliers of Wafer Processing Equipment segment this year due to its concerted focus on customer satisfaction,” stated VLSI chief executive officer, G. Dan Hutcheson. “This year, customers commented on the survey that ‘Varian’s support continues to go above and beyond expectations,’ and ‘They consistently look for ways to improve the tool without customer request.’ Customers also noted that the ion implanter products have ‘good equipment designs (that) lead to excellent uptime and availability’ and the ‘tool is a dependable, high throughput workhorse.’ The company’s continued success is clearly a result of their dedication to providing leading-edge, top quality products, and customer support.”