EV Group Secures Multiple System Order From Colibrys for Production of MEMS-Based Motion Sensors

EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of manufacturing equipment for the advanced packaging/3D interconnect, MEMS, SOI, nanotechnology, compound semiconductor and silicon-based power devices markets, today announced that it has received a multiple system order from Colibrys, a world-leading supplier of standard and custom MEMS-based motion sensors for harsh-environment and safety critical applications. This follow-on order is for one EVG520 semi-automated wafer bonding system and two EVG620 fully automated mask/bond aligners. One bonder and aligner tool set was installed at the Colibrys Inc. manufacturing facility in Stafford, Texas in January, while the other will be installed at the company's headquarters in Neuchatel, Switzerland before the end of the first quarter of 2008. Follow-on orders like this helped EVG realize a 30-percent overall increase in both revenue and order intake in 2007.

According to Colibrys' Vice President of Operations, Jim Marsh, "Our company is dedicated to delivering only the highest performance, highest reliability MEMS-based motion sensors for harsh-environment (energy, military and aerospace) and safety critical (industrial and instrumentation) markets. In turn, we demand the best from our suppliers when it comes to process capabilities, quality and comprehensive support. EVG has been a valued supplier to Colibrys over the last decade, providing the high-quality wafer bonding and aligner technology needed to cost-effectively manufacture our best-in-class MEMS sensors in high volume."

Marsh added that aside from the business growth, there were a number of specific factors leading to this most recent purchasing decision. This included the tool sets' flexibility in handling difficult substrates;

high-force bonding capabilities, which are unparalleled in the industry; and repeatability and reliable performance. In addition, EVG's local support presence in both the U.S. and Europe, and the company's ability to deliver products in a short time frame to address Colibrys' manufacturing capacity expansion plans, were also critical in winning this order.

"On top of our two-decades-plus years of experience in the market, we offer best-of-breed equipment and process expertise to today's MEMS value chain, all at a low cost of ownership," noted EVG's CTO, Paul Linder. "We are committed to working closely with our customers to ensure their manufacturing processes are running at benchmark levels. All of this, coupled with our demonstrated and reliable performance and comprehensive support, is the reason leaders like Colibrys continue to turn to EVG for wafer bonding in high-volume MEMS manufacturing. In fact, 27 of today's top 30 MEMS manufacturers leverage EVG's equipment and that number continues to grow."

For more than 25 years, EVG has been providing cutting-edge equipment and process solutions to the MEMS industry, introducing the first backside lithography systems for the MEMS market in 1985. Over the years, the company has expanded its solution set to include a full portfolio of advanced manufacturing equipment for the MEMS market, such as full-field lithography, wafer alignment and bonding, resist coating, and developing and inspection. Today's news follows on the heels of a major MEMS-related milestone the company announced late last year -- the installation of its 500th bond chamber and 100th automated wafer bonder for high-volume manufacturing, which underscores the importance of wafer bonding as a key process for MEMS production.

About Colibrys

Colibrys is a world-leading supplier of standard and semi-custom MEMS based motion sensors to the harsh-environment (Energy, Military and Aerospace), and safety critical (Industrial and Instrumentation) applications. Colibrys has the full breadth of MEMS capability, undertaking design, development, wafer manufacture, packaging and test of MEMS components. Additional information is available at http://www.colibrys.com.