Press ReleasesPEER Group Completes Acquisition of Asyst Software ProductsKITCHENER, Ontario - August 27, 2009The PEER Group, Inc. today announced that it has completed the purchase of Asyst Technologies' software business. Asyst was the market leader in connectivity software products in the semiconductor, solar, MEMS and electronics industries. PEER Group will advance its equipment automation strategy by enhancing its product portfolio, adding more than 100 new customers, and providing a strong R&D pipeline of new equipment automation technologies. For the past five years, PEER Group was the largest value-added reseller of Asyst's connectivity products for a variety of tool, fab, and assembly automation solutions. They provided outsourced software engineering design and implementation of several of Asyst's key product enhancements. This experience will enable PEER Group to begin effective support of these newly acquired products immediately. PEER Group's flagship tool automation product, PEER Tool Orchestrator (PTOT), embeds either ConXT or NexEDAT for connectivity. Semilab, a supplier of a broad range of metrology equipment for the semiconductor and photovoltaic (PV) industries, was an early adopter of PTO. "From the initial ConX integration into our first tool platform, we have received all of our technical support directly from PEER Group," says Chris Moore, president of Semilab USA Ltd. "Software integration with our equipment controllers has always gone smoothly and our products are quickly accepted by the most advanced fabs and run reliably in production." PEER Group will assume all existing customer support contracts, even those that have been pre-paid. "Short-term, we're prepared and eager to help customers through this transition by fulfilling license orders and providing customer support," says Mike Kropp, COO of PEER Group. "Long-term, we believe our focus solely on automation software will help us deliver highly productive equipment automation products and services to the semiconductor, solar, and related industries." This acquisition significantly expands PEER Group's footprint into Asia, particularly the Japanese semiconductor equipment market, where Asyst enjoyed strong market share. "Our CCS EnvoyT test application has been used in Japan for more than 10 years," explains Kropp. "Along with the newly acquired Asyst products, we'll have more than 80% of Japanese OEMs as customers and are now in a position to make a positive impact on factory automation productivity on a global scale." "Initially, I chose to work with PEER Group because of their excellent software engineering, project management and customer service," continues Moore. "Over the past few years they have more than justified our faith in being one of their early adopters. PEER Group has become the global leader in tool automation and automation test software. The entire industry will benefit from PEER Group's acquisition of the Asyst software product line, as well as their continued innovation and investment in the field." On September 23, 2009 (September 24 in Asia), PEER Group will broadcast a live webinar where former Asyst customers and interested parties can learn about PEER Group and our plans for product licensing, support, maintenance, and R&D. Connectivity Product Sales InquiriesBill Schmalz
bill.schmalz@peergroup.com
+ 1 519-841-3502 Connectivity Product Supportsupport.connectivity@peergroup.com
PEER Group support line: +1 519-749-8185. For general inquiries please email us at sales@peergroup.com
About PEER GroupPEER Group provides leading-edge factory automation software solutions, integration and consulting services to advanced manufacturers and OEMs in the semiconductor, electronics, life sciences, automotive and solar industries. Many of the world's best manufacturing companies turn to PEER Group to solve their most challenging equipment automation, data management and custom application development problems. PEER
Group partners with leading software and automation companies to ensure the most efficient delivery of highly functional, reliable and scalable solutions. PR ContactGreg Kaminski
greg.kaminski@peergroup.com
+1 519-749-9554
© 2009 The PEER Group Inc. PTO, CCS Envoy and PFAT are trademarks of The PEER Group Inc.
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