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Veeco Forms Process Equipment Group to Maximize Growth Opportunities in Data Storage and HB-LED Markets

Posted on: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 18:00 CST

Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), announced today that it has formed a Process Equipment Group to maximize growth opportunities in the data storage and HB-LED industries.

Edward H. Braun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Veeco, commented, "Our Process Equipment Group is a $225 million per year world leader in deposition and etch technologies, focused on the high-growth data storage and high-brightness LED markets. We expect revenue growth in this business to exceed 15% in 2006, as market demand for converged consumer electronics with embedded storage and high brightness LED backlit displays broadens, and Veeco introduces new Process Equipment solutions aligned to each market. As capacity expands in hard disk drive, we have solutions for the emerging technology changes required by perpendicular recording and smaller form factors. In HB-LED our customers' roadmaps are demanding brighter films and higher levels of throughput. Veeco is uniquely focused on meeting these technology and productivity requirements on a worldwide basis."

In establishing the Process Equipment Group, Veeco has appointed Robert P. Oates, formerly in charge of Veeco's Data Storage Operations (Ion Beam and Slider Products) as Senior Vice President, Process Equipment Operations. Now, in addition to the Ion Beam/Slider product lines, Mr. Oates will oversee Veeco's Epitaxial Operations (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition and Molecular Beam Epitaxy products). Mr. Oates joined Veeco's predecessor company in 1976 and has served in many operational and financial roles at the Company.

Don Kania, Ph.D., Veeco's President and Chief Operating Officer, commented, "Veeco's senior management team is now aligned around our two primary lines of business - Process Equipment, led by Bob Oates, and Metrology and Instrumentation, led by Jeannine Sargent. Along with providing technology and process solutions, the new Process Equipment organization will emphasize the development of critical technologies to be implemented on standard product platforms across the organization. As a result, our customers will see leadership products and processes with improved time-to-market, strengthened customer process support, and better reliability. By leveraging our supply chain, Veeco's shareholders will benefit from improved operational efficiencies over a larger critical mass of products. We have made tremendous progress in improving the operational excellence and customer satisfaction of our data storage products under Bob Oates' leadership, and want to extend this success to all of our Process Equipment technologies."

Operating management reporting to Mr. Oates will be Piero Sferlazzo, Ph.D., Vice President, General Manager (VP/GM) of Veeco's MOCVD operations; David Bruns, VP/GM, Slider Operations; Bill Miller, Ph.D., VP/GM, Ion Beam Operations, and Jeffrey Hohn, VP/GM, MBE Operations.

About Veeco

Veeco Instruments Inc. provides solutions for nanoscale applications in the worldwide semiconductor, data storage, HB-LED/wireless and scientific research markets. Our Metrology products are used to measure at the nanoscale and our Process Equipment tools help create nanoscale devices. Veeco's manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona and Minnesota. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific. Additional information on Veeco can be found at http://www.veeco.com/.

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations about market condition, market acceptance and future sales of Veeco's products, Veeco's future financial performance, future disclosures, or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the challenges of continuing weakness in end market conditions and the cyclical nature of the semiconductor, data storage, HB-LED wireless and scientific research markets, risks associated with integrating acquired businesses and the acceptance of new products by individual customers and by the marketplace and other factors discussed in the Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K . Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Source: Business Wire

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