Axcelis Marks Three Years of Achievements as Public Company; CEO Mary Puma Leads NASDAQ in Market Opening Ceremony

July 11, 2003 at 10:01 AM EDT

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2003--Axcelis Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ACLS), today opened the NASDAQ Stock Market, marking its third year as a public company. Axcelis CEO Mary Puma led NASDAQ's morning market opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. EST in celebration of Axcelis' on-going achievements, including the launch of the new Axcelis Paradigm(TM) ion implanter and a recent strategic acquisition that expands and strengthens the company's technology portfolio.

"Today marks an exciting milestone for Axcelis," Puma said. "Since going public in the July of 2000, Axcelis has reached new heights as a technology developer, employer and partner in the semiconductor market. We've strengthened operations, expanded our product and patent portfolios and put all the pieces in place that position us for outstanding success when the market upturn arrives."

One of Axcelis' most recent achievements is its acquisition of Matrix Integrated Systems, an important equipment supplier in the dry strip technology market, announced on July 1, 2003. The addition of the Richmond, Calif., company expands Axcelis' dry strip technology portfolio. The move complements Axcelis' activities in the implant market, where today it introduced its newest ion implanter, the Paradigm. The new system gives chipmakers the ability to use a single, high-productivity platform for an expanded range of transistor-building applications in the 90nm technology node and beyond, marking an important shift in the implant market.

Both achievements support the company's long-term strategy to build critical mass by maintaining leadership positions in each of its served product markets. This strategy has served Axcelis well, leading the company to gain share in all of its served markets during 2002, according to market research firm Gartner Dataquest. Axcelis remains the top supplier in the $645 million market for ion implantation systems, the company's core product line.

About Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, provides innovative, high-productivity solutions for the semiconductor industry. Axcelis is dedicated to developing enabling process applications through the design, manufacture and complete life cycle support of ion implantation, rapid thermal processing, and cleaning and curing systems. Axcelis Technologies has key technology centers in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Rockville, Maryland as well as in Toyo, Japan through its joint venture, SEN. The company's Internet address is: www.axcelis.com.


    CONTACT: Company Contact:
             Axcelis Technologies, Inc. Maureen Hart, 978-787-4266
             maureen.hart@axcelis.com
             or
             Investor Contact:
             Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
             Mark Namaroff, 978-787-4000
             investor.relations@axcelis.com
             or
             Agency Contact:
             Loomis Group
             Stacy Grisinger, 617-638-0022
             grisingers@loomisgroup.com

    SOURCE: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.