SAN JOSE, Calif., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ultratech, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK), a leading supplier of lithography and laser-processing systems used to manufacture semiconductors and nanotechnology devices, announced today that its chairman and CEO, Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, has been appointed director emeritus on the board of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). In this capacity, Zafiropoulo joins an elite group of industry veterans that includes Ed Braun, Joel Elftmann, Ken Levy, James Morgan, Dan Quernemoen, Shigeo Takayama, and Shoichiro Yoshida. Zafiropoulo served as chairman of the SEMI board from 2002-2003. During this time, he made numerous and significant additional contributions to the global industry association.
"SEMI is pleased to appoint Art Zafiropoulo to the distinguished position of emeritus board member in light of his extraordinary contribution to the semiconductor equipment and materials industry and its global membership association," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Through his tenure as a member of the SEMI board and his leadership of the SEMI Foundation, Art has been an avid supporter and influential advocate of the industry. His role as an emeritus member means that the SEMI board will continue to benefit from his intense dedication to our industry." Zafiropoulo has been a dedicated member of the SEMI board of directors since 1995. He was a founding member and chairman of the SEMI Foundation board of trustees, which promotes SEMI education and workforce development initiatives. He was also the first recipient of the Bob Graham Award for enhancing customer value and promoting the growth of the semiconductor equipment and materials industry through marketing excellence.
Zafiropoulo founded Drytek, a startup dry etch company that was acquired by General Signal in 1986. He served as president of the General Signal Semiconductor Equipment Group's international operations and became president of its Ultratech Stepper business unit in 1990. After he led the management buy-out of Ultratech Stepper and subsequently drove one of the industry's most successful initial public offerings (IPOs) in 1993, semiconductor research firm VLSI Research Inc of San Jose, Calif., inducted him into the Semiconductor Industry Hall of Fame.
After nine years of development and R&D investments, Ultratech pioneered laser-thermal processing (LTP) technology for integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing and introduced its proprietary LTP technology in 2003. During that year, the San Jose-based company changed its name from "Ultratech Stepper" to simply "Ultratech" to emphasize its expansion beyond its traditional photolithography applications. A true visionary, Zafiropoulo holds numerous technology patents, and continues to masterfully redefine and enable Ultratech for future growth and expansion.
The SEMI board of directors is composed of executives from equipment and materials companies serving the global semiconductor and related industries. The board governs the policies and activities of the association on behalf of its international membership. Directors are elected by the membership to two- year terms and may be re-elected to a maximum of four terms. In addition, board members may be elected as ex-officio, non-voting, members for up to three one-year periods. Directors emeritus are nominated by the executive committee of the SEMI board in recognition of outstanding achievements on behalf of the association and the industry.
About SEMI: SEMI is a global industry association serving companies that provide equipment, materials and services used to manufacture semiconductors, displays, nano-scaled structures, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose (Calif.), Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.semi.org/ About Ultratech: Ultratech, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTEK) designs, manufactures and markets photolithography equipment used worldwide in the fabrication of semiconductor and nanotechnology devices, and has expanded its technology scope in pioneering laser processing technology for IC manufacturing. Founded in 1979, Ultratech is a market leader in gold and solder bump lithography. Its products are designed to substantially reduce the cost of ownership for manufacturers in the electronics industry. The company's home page on the World Wide Web is located at http://www.ultratech.com/. DATASOURCE: Ultratech, Inc.
CONTACT: Bruce R. Wright, Senior Vice President & CFO, or Laura Rebouche, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, both of Ultratech, Inc., +1-408-321-8835, fax, +1-408-577-3379, ; or Angie Kellen, Account Director of MCA, +1-650-968-8900, fax, +1-650-968-8990, , for Ultratech, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ultratech.com/ http://www.semi.org/
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