TSMC Honors Applied Materials With Two ''Best Product'' Awards
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2004--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated chipmaking foundry, has honored Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) with two "Best Product" awards. The awards, for "Best Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Product" and "Best Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) Product," were presented at TSMC's annual Supply Chain Management Forum held on Sep. 16, 2004, in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Applied Materials won two of the four awards given in the equipment category, which covers all equipment used in TSMC's fabs.
"TSMC appreciates Applied Materials' dedication to our productivity, profitability and overall success," said Dr. Mark Liu, vice president of Operations II, TSMC. "Applied has proven its tools' capability for outstanding performance and reliability in our very demanding fab environments. As we go forward into the nanometer chipmaking era, TSMC's long-term collaborative relationship with Applied Materials should greatly benefit both our company and our foundry customers as they implement the latest technology."
TSMC's stringent criteria for the awards specify that the candidate must be in the top 20 equipment suppliers to TSMC; meet TSMC's aggressive cost reduction requirements; and score highest in each field, using criteria that include technology, productivity, cost, quality and service. Mr. Liu presented the honors to Dr. Gongda Yao, vice president and general manager of Applied Materials' PVD division, and Dr. Randhir Thakur, group vice president and general manager of Applied's Front End Products group.
"TSMC and Applied Materials have worked together for many years on a broad spectrum of advanced technologies and we hope to continue this close and valuable relationship for many years to come," noted Franz Janker, senior vice president of Applied Materials. "We are very proud to have our products recognized by TSMC, validating that their performance meets the world-class technology requirements of advanced transistor and copper/low k manufacturing, and TSMC's fast-paced, highly flexible fab operations. We also thank our employees, whose hard work and contributions have enabled this important success for Applied Materials."
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the largest supplier of equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.
CONTACT: Applied Materials, Inc.
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SOURCE: Applied Materials, Inc.