DuPont Photomasks Selects Gresham, Oregon, as Site for New Production Facility

Business Wire, Oct 8, 1997

GRESHAM, OR--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1997--DuPont Photomasks Inc. (NASDAQ: DPMI), more commonly referred to as DPI, today announced that it has selected Gresham, Oregon, as the site for construction of its new photomask production facility. Site selection criteria included proximity to semiconductor manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest, local transportation services, vibrational analysis studies and infrastructure requirements.

Photomasks are high purity quartz plates that contain precision images of integrated circuits and are used to pattern the circuit images onto semiconductor wafers. DPI is the largest photomask supplier in the world and the only fully integrated manufacturer that also makes photoblanks and pellicles, two critical materials necessary for photomask production.

"We chose to locate our latest facility in Oregon to enhance our ability to work in close partnership with many of our customers that have existing or planned local semiconductor manufacturing facilities." said J. Michael Hardinger, chairman and chief executive officer of DuPont Photomasks. "When completed, the Gresham plant and the new facility we currently have under construction in Scotland will bring our worldwide network of manufacturing facilities to eleven."

The DPI plant will be constructed on 13 acres leased from LSI Logic Corp. (NYSE: LSI), a world leader in the design, production and sale of advanced custom semiconductors. The facility will occupy 65,000 square feet, including a 15,000 square foot, sub-Class 1 clean room housing the most advanced equipment available. The project represents a total planned investment of approximately $75 million over the next four years. Operations are expected to begin near the end of 1998, and it is estimated that the facility will employ 200 people at full production.

"The Gresham site meets or exceeds all of our selection criteria," said Hardinger. "The city of Gresham has been very supportive during our site search and we look forward to working closely with local officials through the construction and start-up phases of the project."

"Being selected as the home for the world's largest photomask manufacturer's new production facility is a real confirmation of Gresham's outstanding attributes," said Gresham Mayor Gussie McRobert. "The city leaders are delighted that DuPont Photomasks chose to build here and we welcome the company into our community."

"DPI's presence will further solidify the high technology base that is critical to our city's and the region's economic strength," added Robert Fussell, economic development director for Gresham. "DPI epitomizes the caliber of employer and type of business that we seek to attract."

Operations at the plant will be structured to satisfy the diverse needs of the area's semiconductor manufacturers, from the quick turnaround times required by ASIC producers to generating photomasks utilizing the advanced optical proximity correction and phase shift technology currently required by DRAM manufacturers. Initial production will include photomasks for use in both the i-line steppers that are currently widely deployed and excimer-laser steppers operating with deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography technology that are rapidly gaining market penetration.

DuPont Photomasks Inc. (DPI)

DuPont Photomasks Inc. is the world's leading supplier of photomasks, operating globally from nine strategically located facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. The company produces and supplies photomasks as well as photoblanks (photomask substrates) and pellicles (protective covers for photomasks). DPI is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, and had worldwide sales in fiscal 1997 of over $260 million. DPI maintains a Web site at http://www.photomask.com -0- Note: This release includes forward-looking statements based on management's current plans and expectations. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with construction costs and schedules as well as sufficient demand for the company's products in support of the new facility, which cannot be predicted or quantified and which may cause future activities and results of operations to differ from those suggested. For additional information, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT: DPI Investor Relations

Dianne Schedler, 512/310-6559

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Edelman Worldwide

John Satterfield/Barbara Holtz

415/968-4033

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Investor Relations Partners

Shellie M. Roth, 973/535-8389