50 Percent of Top 20 Semi Industry Equipment Makers Have Now Selected Company's CIMPortal Technology SALT LAKE CITY, UT - December 6, 2006 - Cimetrix, Inc. (OTC: CMXX), a leading provider of factory automation software and solutions for the global semiconductor and electronics industries, marked a major milestone today by announcing that its CIMPortal software product has been selected for Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International's (SEMI) Interface A standards compliance by 50 percent of the top 20 largest semiconductor equipment suppliers in the world.
"This significant milestone for Cimetrix and our CIMPortal technology is yet another accomplishment to add to the list of industry validations we have already received around Interface A over the past few years," commented Dave Faulkner, executive vice president for Cimetrix. The goal of Cimetrix's Equipment Data Acquisition (EDA) development strategy was to bring to market a technology suite that would earn the trust of major industry leaders. Cimetrix has made significant investments to support Interface A deployment, one result of which is its CIMPortal software product. This past month marked the tenth top 20 equipment supplier to select CIMPortal, largely because of its high performance and robustness gained through beta site and production installations.
In addition, customers have the assurance of Cimetrix's reputation for passionate support, as this new standard will undoubtedly undergo modifications as users take advantage of the new technology. "That 50 percent of the top equipment suppliers in Europe, Japan and North American now use our technology suite is a clear indication that we are firmly on track with our strategy and that our investments in product development in this area are gaining enormous traction among the industry's equipment leaders," noted Faulkner.
About CIMPortal:
CIMPortal was released as Version 1.0 in June 2006, following a vigorous two- year Beta Program, which concluded with three months of actual fab usage. During that Beta Program, Cimetrix worked closely with industry leaders and experts, including Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs) and equipment suppliers to address the need to gather high speed, quality data from chip manufacturing equipment. Cimetrix's CIMPortal product family includes a flexible architecture for equipment suppliers to collect, manage and export data in multiple formats including SEMI's Interface A standards. Cimetrix has reached many milestones during the CIMPortal development process:
- Participant in the 2003 National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) project entitled "e- Manufacturing Security Framework to Improve Semiconductor Manufacturing Productivity" with AMD.
- Initiation of the CIMPortal Beta Program in 2004.
- Presentation with Novellus of Interface A prototype at e- Manufacturing Workshop in 2005.
- Selection by International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) in 2005 to supply the Equipment Client Connection Emulator (ECCE) to the industry as a reference artifact to assist with Interface A development programs.
- Participation in multiple equipment supplier demonstrations of Interface A as part of ISMI's development programs during 2005.
- Participation in multiple ISMI member company pilot projects using CIMPortal in production environments during 2005 and 2006.
- Selection of CIMPortal as 2006 Editor's Choice Best Product by Semiconductor International magazine.
- Cimetrix earns tenth top tier customer using CIMPortal in November 2006.
This program provided key user input and produced our first Interface A prototype installed in a fab environment.
This two-year program involved over 30 equipment suppliers and included four major revisions to the CIMPortal product.
About Cimetrix Incorporated
Cimetrix designs, develops, markets and supports factory automation software for the global semiconductor and electronics industries.
Cimetrix's connectivity software allows equipment manufacturers to quickly implement the SECS/GEM standards, with over 10,000 connections shipped worldwide.
It also provides solutions to meet the 300mm SEMI communications standards, with OEM customer installations in all major 300mm fabs, and products designed for the new Interface A standards.
Cimetrix's PC-based motion control software is used by leading equipment manufacturers for demanding robotic applications.
Cimetrix provides total solutions for its customers with engineering services and passionate technical support.
Major products include CIMConnect, CIM300, CIMPortal and CODE (Cimetrix Open Development Environment).
