The PEER Group Inc., an international supplier of factory automation software and services for the semiconductor, automotive, electronics, and life sciences industries announced today that PEER Group's PEER Tool Orchestrator (PTO™) has received Semiconductor International's prestigious 2007 Editor's Choice Award for best new product. These awards are given to commercially proven products that demonstrate excellence in semiconductor manufacturing and are used in numerous fabs around the world.
Since the early 1990s, PEER Group has provided equipment automation software testing and integration services to IC manufacturers. Using the experience of automating over 200 tool types entering fabs, PEER Group started development of automation solutions for OEMs in 2003, culminating in the release of PTO as a product in 2006.
PTO is a configurable software solution that provides complete tool automation capabilities, including FOUP management, wafer transport, scheduling, a user interface, and host connectivity. Tool automation can be configured with little or no programming.
“We were one of the early adopters of what was to become PTO. Even then, PEER Group always met our delivery schedule and fab acceptance was fast and simple,” said Chris Moore, CEO of Advanced Metrology Systems. “Now, PTO is a key component in our equipment control system. Our tools stay up-to-date with the SEMI standards, our automation compliance costs are low, and we can focus on our core metrology competency and serving our customers' needs. PEER Group makes an excellent automation partner and we are pleased the industry has recognized their achievements.”
PTO supports most automation hardware components and easily integrates with the OEM's equipment control system. Implementation time is fast and has been completed in as little as six weeks, with customers reporting higher equipment reliability since using PTO. The product now has 15 design wins and is shipping to 300mm fabs globally.
“We wish to thank all of our customers for their support of PTO,” said Mike Kropp, COO and product champion at PEER Group. “They continue to provide market-driven direction and specific fab-driven requirements that are critical for developing a successful, award-winning product. Our company is dedicated to reducing the cost of automation for both fabs and OEMs. PTO is one of the key components in this strategy.”
PEER Group will accept the Editor's Choice Award at a special ceremony on July 18 at Semicon West in San Francisco and will also provide demonstrations of PTO at its booth at 3306 Gateway Hall.
PEER Group provides leading-edge factory automation software solutions and consulting services to advanced manufacturers and OEMs in the semiconductor, electronics, life sciences and automotive 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 assure the most efficient delivery of highly functional, reliable and scalable solutions.
Greg Kaminski, Marketing Managergreg.kaminski@peergroup.com1 519-749-9554
© 2007 The PEER Group Inc. PTO is a trademark of The PEER Group Inc.