FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Oct. 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. ("K&S" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:KLIC) today announced that Taiwan chip makers have rated K&S as the best supplier of assembly equipment. Results were derived from a customer satisfaction survey on chip making equipment conducted by VLSI Research, Inc., a leading provider of market research and economic analysis for the semiconductor industry.
The VLSI annual survey is the only publicly available source of chip manufacturers' feedback about their suppliers. Results ranked the top 20 companies from 61 suppliers rated by equipment users in Taiwan. The survey asked users of chip making equipment to rate their suppliers on a ten-point scale among thirteen categories that exemplify a supplier's relationship with its customers.
Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSI Research, stated, "In addition to the overall rating, our survey results also list the highest rated criteria for each supplier. The top-rated category for K&S was a rather astounding six-way tie between the following criteria: Technical Leadership; Process Support; Support After Sales; Product Performance; Uptime; and Commitment." He concluded, "The chip makers in Taiwan have extremely high standards for their suppliers. I believe K&S should be exceptionally pleased with the high marks the Company received for technology, performance, and support. It should come as no surprise that VLSI defines K&S as the dominant global market leader for wire bonding equipment."
Scott Kulicke, chairman and CEO of K&S, added, "The VLSI survey data is important to us and one of the metrics that K&S uses to assess the Company's performance. Receiving the highest results among assembly equipment suppliers in Taiwan is validation that our products and employees are meeting, or exceeding, our corporate objectives: provide customers with leading technology and solutions; and provide shareholders with profitable growth and sustainable cash flow."
About Kulicke & Soffa
Kulicke & Soffa (Nasdaq:KLIC) is the world's leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, materials, and technology. K&S provides wire bonders, capillaries, wire, die bonders, and die collets for all types of semiconductor packages using wire as the internal electrical interconnections. K&S is the only major supplier to the semiconductor assembly industry that provides customers with semiconductor assembly equipment along with the complementing packaging materials and process technology that enable our customers to achieve the highest possible yields and throughput. The ability to provide these assembly related products is unique to K&S, and allows us to develop system solutions to the new technology challenges inherent in assembling and packaging next-generation semiconductor devices. Kulicke & Soffa's web site address is http://www.kns.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical statements, this press release contains statements relating to future events and our future results. These statements are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to our future revenue, revenue growth, sales, customer demand, customer sentiment, business conditions, profitable growth, cash flow, financial results, unit volumes, product development, release of products, industry forecasts, the semiconductor business cycle, and projected continued demand for our products. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: the risk of failure to successfully manage our operations; the risk that anticipated orders may not materialize or that orders received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; the risk that we may not be able to develop and manufacture new products and product enhancements on a timely and cost effective basis; acts of terrorism and violence; overall global economic conditions; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with a substantial foreign customer and supplier base and substantial foreign manufacturing operations; potential instability in foreign capital markets; and the factors listed or discussed in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kulicke & Soffa Industries is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.