| May 17, 2007 Laserfront Technologies, Inc. |
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| Business Alliance and Capital Tie-up with Omron Corporation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laserfront Technologies, Inc. (‘LFT’) announces today that we will enter into a business alliance and capital tie-up with Omron Corporation (Head Office: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, President: Hisao Sakuta, ‘OMRON’). By integrating LFT’s laser micromachining technology with OMRON’s precision measurement and inspection systems, LFT aims to expand the operations of both LFT and Omron’s Industrial Automation Business Company, President: Fumio Tateishi, (‘IAB’). Since LFT became an independent company in April 2004, carved out from NEC Corporation, LFT has provided various products to the market so far which include CVD repair machines for LCD panels that hold a top global share, UV solid-state lasers that have the highest output in the world, trimmers, laser welding machines, and laser markers. During this period, LFT has worked to increase the value of the business by investing aggressively in research and development to strengthen the core technology and by expanding into new operational areas. This tie-up with Omron will allow LFT to further strengthen the core operations that LFT has cultivated over the years and will contribute to the increased growth of LFT. LFT also judged that a capital tie-up was necessary in order to fully exploit the potential synergies in the businesses of the two companies. IAB provides advanced, customizable solutions that empower manufacturers worldwide to improve product quality and workplace safety while reducing their impact on the environment. As the dominant player in the global AOI (automated optical inspection) market, OMRON has developed particular expertise in product quality improvement; its industry-leading precision sensing devices, which include PCB (printed circuit board) inspection systems and LCD/overlay measurement equipment1, enable manufacturers to measure, analyze and improve quality throughout their entire product life-cycle. Manufacturers today face growing pressure to deliver consistently high quality while reducing the size, weight and footprint of their products. This form factor reduction is especially challenging for LCD makers, as consumer demand increases for ever larger screen sizes on AV equipment. The marriage of LFT’s laser processing with OMRON’s in-line inspection and measurement systems expertise opens up new avenues for the integration of inspection and repair processes, which will allow LFT to provide customers with total quality across all manufacturing processes, where precision performance has become ever more important. In concrete terms, the new development of applications will be allowed, such as precision laser processing, which is performed while measuring the processing object and position, and automated repair by the tie-up between inspection and repair. In addition, while LFT is a major supplier of laser processing equipment to the LCD, semiconductor and electronic components industries, OMRON has a well-established global customer base spanning multiple industries. The new alliance will allow the two companies to provide an enhanced product offering to their respective customers and achieve even greater customer satisfaction. The capital tie-up will be made in an arrangement whereby OMRON shall acquire in excess of 80% of LFT’s ordinary shares from Japan Industrial Partners, Inc., NEC Corp. and other major LFT shareholders. Comment from Fumio Tateishi, President of IAB Company “This is a very exciting alliance for OMRON. It gives us access to new customers in the flourishing LCD and semiconductor sectors and uniquely positions us as a ‘one-stopshop’ for quality control solutions that cover the entire manufacturing process. By fusing LFT’s advanced laser processing technologies with our own core competency in sensing and control, OMRON will be better set than ever to help customers around the world achieve greater levels of quality, safety and environmental protection.” Comment from Takeshi Matsunobu, President and CEO of LFT “Until now, LFT has concentrated on its customers in the LCD and semiconductor industries. OMRON’s technology will allow us to develop new laser solutions tailored to a wider range of customers’ needs, and as a result, dramatically expand our customer base.” |
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