Photon Control Strengthens its Position in Korea with the Addition of a Leading Distributor


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Photon Control Inc. (“Photon Control” or the “Company”) (TSX: PHO), a leading manufacturer of fiber optic measurement solutions, is pleased to announce it has entered into a distribution agreement with a leading Korean distributor, Woowon Technology Co., Ltd (“Woowon”). This agreement provides Photon Control with a proven partner in Korea, the second largest semiconductor market in the world accounting for over 20% of the global market. The partnership furthers Photon Control’s market penetration strategy of strong local support in key markets.

Woowon, headquartered in Bundang, Korea, was established in 1990 and is a representative and distributor for over 30 major foreign manufacturers in the Korean market. They supply capital equipment, subsystems, and components to the major semiconductor and display original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Korea supported by a core team with over thirty years of experience in the industry. Woowon will distribute Photon Control’s fiber optic sensors that play a critical role in advanced process control in the semiconductor and display manufacturing industries.

“We are thrilled to partner with a world-class distributor in the Korean semiconductor and display industries with over 30 years of experience,” said Nigel Hunton, Chief Executive Officer of Photon Control. “We recognize the strength of the Korean market, producing approximately 60% of the world’s memory chips, and we expect this significant growth to continue. Woowon is the right partner to grow our market share in Korea through their strong local network and support. Their industry expertise will provide significant competitive advantages and will assist us in providing our customers with creative value-add solutions.”

“Photon Control is a great fit for our customers in Korea and we are delighted for this partnership,” said Dr. Oh, President and CEO of Woowon. “Photon Control’s sensor products and expertise complement our growing portfolio and we look forward to providing innovative sensor solutions to benefit our semiconductor and display customers.”

About Photon Control Inc.
Photon Control Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes a wide range of optical sensors and systems to measure temperature and position. These products improve performance and enable innovation for our customers and are used in the semiconductor and other high-technology industries. Photon Control Inc.’s high-quality products provide industry-leading accuracy, reliability and quality in the most extreme conditions and are backed by a team of experts providing a variety of on-site and remote services including custom design, installation, training and support. The Company is headquartered in an ISO 9001:2015 manufacturing facility in Vancouver, BC, has manufacturing, sales and engineering offices in California and a sales distribution network around the globe. Photon Control Inc. is listed on TSX, trading under the symbol “PHO”. Additional information about the company can be found at

https://www.photoncontrol.com/investors/

About Woowon Technology Co., Ltd
Woowon Technology, established in 1990, is a representative and distributor for major foreign equipment suppliers. Their highly experienced sales and support teams of over forty people is headquartered in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si and provides world-class support that is focused on customers in the Korean semiconductor, display, MEMS, LED and solar markets. Woowon imports and supplies capital equipment, subsystem and its components from more than twenty manufacturers based all over the world. Their knowledge and experience provide effective equipment sales, logistics, tool installation and start-up, process support, and warranty service. their strong established network and highly capable team enable early market introduction of cutting edge technologies to satisfy the needs of their customers. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.wwtech.co.kr/

Investor Relations Contact:
IR@photoncontrol.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements generally can be identified by use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “might”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “consider”, “believe”, “plan”, “project”, “assume”, “strategy”, “goals”, “objectives”, “potential”, “possible”, “confident” or “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. Such forward-looking statements concern the business and anticipated financial performance of the Company and include, without limitation, the Company’s growth outlook.

These forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and assumptions, including, without limitation: the Company’s ability to develop, manufacture and sell new products that meet the needs of its customers and gain commercial acceptance; the Company’s ability to continue to sell its products in line with expected quantity, price and delivery times; the Company’s ability to attract new business; continued and future demand for the Company’s products; continued sales to the Company’s major customers; the Company’s operations not being adversely affected by supply, operating, cyber security, litigation or regulatory risks; the Company’s ability to react to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; the Company’s ability to enhance revenue diversification and open new market opportunities; and, the Company’s expectations regarding market risk, including interest rate changes, tax changes and foreign currency fluctuations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: uncertainties relating to the market for the Company’s products and maintaining a stable level of orders; fluctuations in revenue as a result of volatility in the markets and product mix; risks relating to the Company’s present reliance on its major customers for the majority of its sales; risks relating to the Company’s reliance on the financial health of and timing of cycles in the semiconductor industry; risks relating to the development of competing technologies and the possibility of increased competition; the effect of slow growth in the United States, the Company’s principal market, as well as other economies and other economic trends and conditions in the markets that the Company and its customers serve; risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus; risks associated with the adverse impact of climate change; risks associated with technical difficulties or delays in product introductions, improvements, implementation; uncertainties in product pricing or other initiatives of the Company and its competitors; uncertainties in factors that may result in a reduction in capital expenditures and/or delayed buying decisions affecting demand for the Company’s products; risks relating to currency fluctuations, particularly between the Canadian and United States dollars; risks in pursuing additional development projects to support existing customers or pursue other business opportunities; and such other risks as are identified in the Company’s Annual Information Form and other disclosure documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The foregoing assumptions, risks and uncertainties are not exhaustive of the items that may affect our forward-looking statements. Should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect or one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The Company’s forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made.

For the reasons set forth above, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included herein if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.