As testimony to the company's ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction,
Novellus Systems (NASDAQ:NVLS),
a leading provider of advanced process equipment for the global semiconductor
industry, announced today that it has been recognized by VLSI Research as the
best supplier of thin film deposition equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing.
For the second consecutive year in VLSI's annual customer satisfaction survey,
Novellus earned the second highest score in the "large supplier of chip
making equipment" category. The survey, which is based on actual feedback
from leading IC manufacturers worldwide, honored Novellus with the highest ranking
in cost of ownership, customer commitment, and -- in a tie with another equipment
supplier -- best system uptime. Further, Novellus' continued drive to push the
industry standard for customer service narrowed the gap between Novellus and
the overall survey's top score to just 0.11 points.
"These survey results indicate that Novellus is focused on the product
performance parameters that clearly matter to its customers," said Dan
Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research. "For semiconductor companies looking
to partner with a process equipment vendor, low manufacturing cost and advanced
technological capabilities are equally important requirements. Novellus has
long understood that reality, and is shipping products to its customers today
with both attributes."
"We are pleased at our success in delivering quality customer service as
evidenced by our ranking in VLSI's benchmark survey," said Jerry Sowers,
vice president of Customer Satisfaction at Novellus Systems. "Our improvements
in this year's survey were broad-based, reflecting customer satisfaction advances
across all products, sales regions, and customers. And, while we're proud of
the advances we've made in this measure of customer satisfaction over the past
several years, we're equally proud to be number one in customer satisfaction
in the specific market segments we serve."
Instituted in 1988, VLSI Research's Customer Satisfaction Survey on Chip Making
Equipment offers the world's chip producers the chance to rank the top suppliers
in the equipment industry.