Urs Waelchli Appointed Vice President of Vacuum Control Business Unit
Zürich, Schweiz and Balzers, Liechtenstein - March 2, 2004 - The Board of Directors of INFICON Holding AG (SWX Swiss Exchange and NASDAQ: IFCN) has appointed Urs Waelchli as Vice President of INFICON, effective March 1, 2004. With this promotion, Waelchli is the new manager of the strategic business unit Vacuum Control, as well as the Liechtenstein manufacturing facility. Waelchli holds a Ph.D. in physics and succeeds Lukas Winkler, who was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of INFICON on January 1, 2004.
"Urs Waelchli combines a strong background in technology and physics and proven leadership. These assets will allow him to successfully manage the Liechtenstein location and Vacuum Control business unit," said Lukas Winker, President and CEO of INFICON. "Thanks to his many years with INFICON and its predecessors, he is very familiar with our company and recognized as a competent leader."
Urs Waelchli commented: "I am very enthusiastic about my new challenge. As location manager at Balzers and as manager of the business unit Vacuum Control, I would like to expand INFICON's market-leading position. Continuous innovation of state-of-the-art instrumentation and technologies is key to this and at the top of our agenda."
Urs Waelchli joined Balzers AG in 1993 as project manager. He led important innovation projects for new gas analyzers, leak detectors and measurement technologies. From 1998 to 1999, Waelchli was involved in the combined Balzers and Leybold Instrumentation that led to the creation of INFICON. In 2000, he was appointed R&D Manager of the Vacuum Control business unit. Since 2003, he has been Technical Director. Waelchli holds a Ph.D. in physics from Berne University (1991) and a Master of Industrial Management from ETH Zürich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (2001).
INFICON is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of innovative vacuum instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and advanced process control software for the semiconductor and related industries and other industrial applications. These analysis, measurement and control products are vital to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end-users in the complex manufacturing of semiconductors, flat panel displays, magnetic and optical storage media and precision optics. INFICON also provides essential instrumentation for gas leak detection and toxic chemical analysis to the air conditioning/refrigeration, emergency response, security, and industrial hygiene markets. Headquartered in Syracuse, New York, INFICON has world-class manufacturing facilities in the United States and Europe and worldwide offices in the U.S., China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. For more information about INFICON and its products, please visit the Company's website at www.inficon.com.
This press release and oral statements or other written statements made, or to be made, by us contain forward-looking statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts. Forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "believe", "will", "expect", "project", "assume", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "resumes", "opportunity" or "potential". These forward-looking statements address, among other things, our strategic objectives, trends in vacuum technology and in the industries that employ vacuum instrumentation, such as the semiconductor and related industries and the anticipated effects of these trends on our business. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of our management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect our current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. Some of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for fiscal 2002 and the Company's reports on Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission during 2003. As a consequence, our current and anticipated plans and our future prospects, results of operations and financial condition may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of our company. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: INFICON Betty Ann Kram (IR), 315-434-1122 BettyAnn.Kram@inficon.com or c-matrix group ag Bernhard Schweizer / Sara Koch, 41-41-769-80-40 inficon@cmatrix.ch or Lippert / Heilshorn & Associates, Inc. Jody Burfening / Harriet Fried, 212-838-3777 jbs@lhai.com SOURCE: INFICON