Etec Receives ISO 9001 Certification; Commitment to Excellence Earns Quality Assurance Certification from International Standards Organization

Business Wire, Jan 23, 2001

Business Editors

HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2001

Etec Systems, Inc., an Applied Materials company and the leading supplier of semiconductor mask patterning systems, today announced that its Mask Patterning Product Group has been awarded the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001 certification. ISO 9001 certification, the globally recognized quality assurance standard, verifies that Etec's procedures consistently meet the highest measure for delivering quality products, services and support to its customers.

"Etec always strives to produce the highest caliber products and service in the industry," said Howard Neff, President of Etec Systems, Inc. "The attainment of ISO 9001 certification is the culmination of years of hard work and represents our ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction. We are proud to deliver on our promise to customers to continuously improve our operations. The certification process helps us refine our documentation and procedures for continuous improvement and is an important milestone in our quality efforts."

Two Etec sites, Hayward, California and Hillsboro, Oregon, were ISO 9001 qualified under the same independent, quality assurance certification organization. ISO certification is awarded when an independent audit firm's assessment verifies that a company's day-to-day business practices match its process documentation and meet or exceed the stringent and explicit quality standards set forth by the International Standards Organization.

Widely recognized for its expertise with laser and electron beam pattern generation technologies, Etec designs, manufactures and markets maskmaking solutions that enable the production of smaller, faster and less expensive semiconductor chips fueling today's electronics. Etec patterning groups are part of the Applied Materials Mask Business Sector, which provides global solutions to the mask industry.

Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) is a leader of the Information Age and the world's largest supplier of products and services to the global semiconductor industries. Applied Materials' web site is http://www.appliedmaterials.com.