Conference nyoss1::market_investing

    We use Tencor equipment in every facility, including Fab6 (newly built
    facility in Hudson). Tencor has competition, but it is rather weak. If
    the semiconductor industry continues to grow, Tencor WILL follow suit.

	Re. .1 Thanx for the info. 

	Does anyone have data from IBD (relative strength, etc.)?
	In the meantime, the stock moved up about 15% last week, after 
	I started looking into it :-). 

    Electroglas recently announced good positive earnings and revenues. 
    S&P marketscope says they too mfg and sell semiconductor (waffer) testing
    equipment.  Does Digital use their stuff too?  EGLS - OTC

    I mentioned EG back when they went public last year at 16.
    
    Yes, Digital uses EG.  I am purchasing 4 systems for HLO this year at
    about $250k per system.  Intel has purchased or has on order as many
    as 64 systems.  I will be at the EG factory next week.  They are very
    busy and leadtimes are fairly long.
    
    Most new US fabs are moving to EG.  There are only two real vendors
    for wafer probe, EG and KLA.  KLA is a Japanese vendor with higher
    cost and lower performance. 
    
    Look for EG to have continued earnings growth for the next several 
    years.  Once everyone has 8" lines up and running, revenues will
    have to decline in the US market.  EG is making strong moves though
    in Asia (DRAMs) and is even starting to sell into Japan, a KLA (TEL)
    stronghold.  

	Re. .4

	Are Tencor and EG competitors, or are they complementary to each 
	other?

	Sorry for this naive question from someone who does not understand
	the semiconductor technology that much :-). 

Anyone have the phone numbers to these places?  I'd like to call and
get more info (annual rpts, 10k, qtr rpts).

Electroglas Files Secondary Offering (from VLSI research) 

   Electroglas filed a registration statement with the Securities
and Exchange Commission for a secondary offering of 2 million
shares of common stock. The company, a supplier of wafer probing
equipment, went public last June. Electroglas will sell 1.4
million of the shares offered, while a shareholder, General
Signal Technology Corp., will sell 600,000 shares. General Signal
is the former parent company of Electroglas; GS received all of
the net proceeds, more than $90 million, from Electroglas'
initial public offering. At the current market value of
Electroglas stock, GS stands to take in more than $14 million
from this new offering. The managing underwriters are Lehman
Brothers; Bear, Stearns & Co.; and Needham & Co. The underwriters
have the option to buy up to 300,000 additional shares for
overallotments.

   Shareholders of Tencor Instruments and Prometrix last week
approved the merger of their companies, both of which make
semiconductor measurement and monitoring equipment. Tencor is
exchanging 3.9 million shares of its stock for all the shares of
Prometrix, giving the deal an indicated value of nearly $60
million. Legal documentation related to the transaction should be
completed shortly and the merger officially consummated.
    

    
    This may be a few days late based on the jump last week in EG stock
    but, I just returned from EG last week.
    
    Things are still very busy at EG.  They are predicting 8 mil in revenue
    next quarter, 12 mil next.  And, IBM is now placing an order for >35
    prober systems.  Even more impressive to me was they are still cranking
    out more older style 6" machines than the 8" ones.  Lots of growth to
    come I would think.

    re.9 et al,  Thanks for the update on Electroglas.  Would you please
    explain what wafer probes are, what they do, and what is so special
    about EGLS's product.  

    
    Wafer probers are used to position a wafer under a prober card or other
    probing device in order to perform some sort of test, inspection or 
    diagnostic.  Because of the small size of pads (<3mils) you must
    position the wafer exactly the same way across every chip on every
    wafer every lot every time.  A prober only moves the wafer.  It has no
    other function.  Another instrument, like a tester, must interface to
    the prober.  Only 3 companies sell these probers in the US. KLA and TSK
    are the other two. Both are Japanese owned. KLA has a shrinking market,
    TSK almost no marketshare.  EG has the market well in hand for good
    reason.  They hold a patent on a linear motor platen to position the
    wafer within 0.1mil cleanly.  All other probers are lead-screw driven,
    produce particles and need oil - a no-no in clean probing.
    
    EG is at 32 3/4 today.  

    
    
    	FYI, Tencor closed at 27 yesterday, up from 15 3/4 a month or so ago. 
    	Up from around 7 when they went public 17 months ago.
    	
    	/Bill

    Re: -.1
    
    > EG is at 32 3/4 today.
    
    EG is now at 40 3/4.  How how further do you expect it to go?
    
    Thanks!

    To atleast 44...
    
    	:-)
    
    EG recently won a contract from Fujitsu in Japan valued at $15,000,000.
    They beat out two large Japanese firms, TEL and TSK for that contract
    of 75-80 8" probers.  A very big win for EG.

TENCOR RECEIVES $5M EQUIPMENT ORDER FROM AMD

   Tencor Instruments received an order worth nearly $5 million from
Advanced Micro Devices for semiconductor measurement equipment to be used
in AMD's Fab 25, currently under construction in Austin, Tex. The order
includes Surfscan inspection systems for patterned and unpatterned wafers,
automated surface profiling and film stress measurement systems and
thin-film and resistivity measurement systems.
   Shipments are expected to begin in October. Fab 25 will produce MOS
logic devices on a 200-millimeter (8-inch) fab line.
   "Each system, particularly those for wafer inspection and thin-film
measurement, underwent a comprehensive technical evaluation during the
purchase process," said Brian Mein, AMD purchasing manager. "The Tencor
products displayed the speed and automation required for in-line process
control at the new Austin fab, where capacity is anticipated to be 20,000
wafers per month."
   A number of Tencor products have been previously installed in AMD
facilities around the world. Earlier this year, the 200th unit of the
Surfscan 6200 unpatterned wafer inspection system was delivered to an AMD
facility in California.

DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY
    

    What is happening to EG?  It got to 49~ quickly and 
    has gotten hammered ever since back to the 30th?

    Broker told me about the positive write up on Irvine Sensors in the
    Dick DAvis Digest.  I think they make chip making equipment that
    arranges chips in arrays? or matrix's.  Some $50 million deal with IBM
    or Motorola is pending.  Qt rev of $5million while losing $2million .
    Anyone heard otf them....is it the next generation of chip making stuff
    or someones pipe dream??

    It is a real company with an approach more real than most might think
    of it.  They are on the verge of a moving to mass production of memory
    chips using IBM production facilities with a sugar cube size memory
    stack that would hold 80mb of RAM.  That would have it's place in this
    era of shrinking systems while increasing the need for memory.  I am a
    player with IRSN and have not held on to it long term, but just enjoy
    trading it in and out since it was $3 a share.  
    
    Enjoy IRSN only as a trading vehicle since it moves up and down on it's
    own news announcements.  It has not made money yet, but should be
    shooting up one of these days.....(who knows when though.....).  This
    is how you think, talk and invest in tiny-small-companies...right?.
    
    Ken

    For those following EG thru this note - $59 yesterday. Not bad.  And
    demand is still growing.  Something else though I have noticed growing;
    poeple are buying EG and liking it less. Alot of grumbling at a probe
    conf last week about poor service and lack of attention to customer input.
    EG isn't being helpful in drafting SEMI probe standards because they
    claim to be the standard. EG is beginning to lose business to TSK
    probers because they have not expanded production and can not meet
    demand.  A new prober company will debut next month at SemiCon.  They
    sound like a possible alternative to EG.  More on that after I see the 
    real product in working condition.
    
    Bob

    EG up 10% yesterday to $72!  This company stock did not even flinch 
    on the down tech days.
    
    I was in San Fran with EG last week at Semicon.  During a reception
    they had as many Wall Street brokerage firm analysts as they did
    customers.  EG wants to raise their trading volume and stablize their
    price volatility.  But, only to the downside of course.

    
    EG is at $20 just about 1/2 its 52 week high (after split,
    if I am not mistaken).
    
    Any takers?
    
    dan