5 August 2013

ClassOne expands European operations to support Semitool equipment

ClassOne Equipment of Atlanta, GA, USA (which supplies refurbished wafer fabrication equipment) has increased its presence in Europe with the opening of new facilities committed to the sales and support of the wet chemical processing products of both ClassOne Equipment and its new subsidiary ClassOne Technology (the firm’s Design and Development Center in Kalispell, Montana, opened in July). This includes ClassOne’s traditional products such as remanufactured Semitool SATs, SSTs, and Equinox tools, as well as new products such as the field-retrofitable Polaris controller that extends the life of existing tools by 10 years or more.

The first new office in Europe, located in Norwich, England, will be engaged primarily in sales, while the second, in Grenoble, France, will provide field service. These facilities supplement ClassOne’s existing office in London, which continues to focus on ClassOne’s three other divisions: SPTS Plasma Etching & PECVD, Suss/EVG Mask Aligners, and KLA-Tencor Wafer Inspection & Metrology.

“The European market is extremely important for emerging technologies such as MEMS, nanotech, LED and RF power devices, particularly since the vast majority of these devices are produced on 75-200mm substrates,” says ClassOne’s president Byron Exarcos. “There exists a large installed base of Semitool wet processing equipment in the region, and our products and services are in high demand. The expansion of our European operations will certainly enhance ClassOne’s growth, but more importantly it will benefit our customers by providing the tools, upgrades, parts, and service that their success depends on,” he adds.

“With the acquisition of Semitool by Applied Materials (AMAT) in 2009, it appears that the interest in supporting the Semitool batch tool product line has declined,” says ClassOne Technology Europe’s director Bill Tutte. “Customers have reported that they have struggled to receive good technical support at a commercially viable cost since then. With the opening of our new offices we believe that we are well placed to succeed and reverse this apparent trend,” he adds. “Our new offices are 100% dedicated to Semitool equipment expertise and are led by myself, for sales from the UK, and another former Semitool employee, Jon McGinn, in France. Between us we have over 30 years of Semitool experience.”

The new offices are now open for business and are can be contacted directly with inquiries for equipment, spare parts, field repairs, lift & rotate refurbishments, or service contracts.

See related items:

ClassOne Equipment expands Wet Processing Division with new subsidiary

ClassOne unveiling PLC controller upgrade for Semitool 302-based platforms

Tags: ClassOne Semitool

Visit: www.ClassOneEquipment.com