The PEER Group Inc. announced today that it has acquired the CCS Envoy™ product and is simultaneously introducing a new, dynamic test application, PEER Factory Acceptance Tester (PFAT™). The industry-leading CCS Envoy is used by both fabs and OEMs during procurement to ensure equipment meets the 300mm automation standards. Virtually every 300mm equipment model in production today has been tested using CCS Envoy. The product was originally created by CCS Technology and was owned by two of the industry's largest automation software companies prior to PEER Group. All business transactions related to CCS Envoy, including technical support, will be handled by PEER Group, effective immediately.
“I was thrilled to learn that PEER Group has recently acquired the CCS Envoy testing suite of products,” says Dave Walsh, president of the Standards Technology Group (Williston, Vermont) and one of the founders of CCS Technology. “I have every confidence that they will find creative ways to integrate mature testing products such as CCS Envoy with new and improved testing solutions.
”We're excited about making CCS Envoy an integral part of our test applications business,” says Mike Kropp, COO of PEER Group. “Having tested or integrated almost every 300mm equipment model for a variety of fabs and OEMs, we're in a good position to support existing customers, maintain the product, and develop a strong roadmap for future requirements.”
PEER Factory Acceptance Tester complements CCS Envoy's SEMI standards testing by allowing engineers to simulate each fab's factory automation control system, so that equipment responses to a fab's exact operational scenarios can be verified before or during tool integration.
“Both fabs and OEMs want to make sure new equipment goes into production quickly and runs reliably,” Kropp continues. “Standards testing is the first step to ensuring that a tool is ready for 300mm automated production. But the standards allow for wide variations in automation implementations and fabs want their own operational scenarios tested prior to shipment and verified before release for production. With the combination of CCS Envoy and PFAT, we can handle both needs.”
PEER Group will host a web meeting in the next 30 days to explain the details of its test applications business. Included will be an update on CCS Envoy, a live PFAT demonstration, and a technology roadmap for its test applications.
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 Manager greg.kaminski@peergroup.com 1 519-749-9554
© 2008 The PEER Group Inc. CCS Envoy and PFAT are trademarks of The PEER Group Inc.