Fremont, CA, October 29, 1996 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT), the leading supplier of SMIF-based technology and automation solutions to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today announced it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Northern California against Empak Corporation, Emtrak Corporation, Jenoptik (GmbH), and the Infab consortium. The lawsuit claims the defendants have willfully and knowingly infringed upon two of Asyst's patents covering certain aspects of its SMIF-based technology for automated lot tracking systems. Asyst is seeking a permanent injunction against further infringement as well as monetary damages.

Asyst alleges that the defendant companies are developing and selling products that infringe upon Asyst's patents and compete with Asyst's SMART-Traveler™ System. The SMART-Traveler System prevents misprocessing and misrouting of wafers in a semiconductor fab. By attaching a SMART-Tag™ to every SMIF-Pod, the SMART-Traveler System prevents the wafers from being processed in the wrong equipment. Fabs that eliminate the misprocessing and misrouting of wafers gain a competitive advantage through increased yields.

Mihir Parikh, Asyst's chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Asyst attained its market leadership through substantial investments in technology and cooperative agreements with other companies. We are fully committed to open-systems and continue to share our technology in structured and productive arrangements. However, as an obligation to our customers and shareholders, we are determined to protect our technology against infringement."

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of material control and automation systems that help semiconductor manufacturers improve their integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing productivity. The company's Asyst-SMIF™ System combines state-of-the-art minienvironments with advanced robotics to create ultraclean processing environments that are both comprehensive and flexible. The SMART-Traveler™ System (STS) works in tandem with SMIF to eliminate misprocessing. Both Asyst-SMIF and its companion STS products are integral to seamless factory automation. Asyst's subsidiary, Asyst Automation, Inc., focuses on material handling control software and inter-bay/intra-bay automation systems. The company's newest subsidiary, Asyst Software, Inc., is dedicated to the development of software products for equipment communications and automated material handling, identification and tracking. Founded in 1984, Asyst Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, CA, with facilities in Europe and the Far East. Asyst Automation, Inc. is located outside Boston, Mass., with Asyst Software located in San Jose, CA The company's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol ASYT.

About SMIF
SMIF stands for Standard Mechanical InterFace, the material handling approach that enables wafer cassette transfer to and from sealed SMIF environments without exposure to cleanroom ambient conditions. SEMI standards exist for 150 and 200mm wafer sizes and are now being defined for 300mm.