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<br />Summary of IC Services Equipment Needs <br /> <br />Back2rindin2 <br /> <br />Backgrinding is the process by which IC Services takes its customers' silicon wafers and <br />grinds the back of them until the overall thickness is reduced from 0.027 inches to 0.010 <br />inches. <br /> <br />IC Services currently has one backgrinder. This backgrinder has been running at full <br />capacity for the past couple of months and will continue to run at full capacity throughout <br />next year (as indicated in the chart titled 2001 Backgrinder Capacity). This is not a good <br />position to be in for a number of reasons. With the backgrinder at full capacity, there is <br />no allowance for down time. If the equipment goes down for any reason (material, <br />equipment or manpower), the lost revenue can not be made up. With only one machine, <br />if there were a major problem that kept it down for an extended period of time, it would <br />not only cripple IC Services, but also our customers that depend on us to provide that <br />service. Finally, with the backgrinder at full capacity, we can not go after additional <br />business and grow that aspect of the process. <br /> <br />By purchasing a second backgrinder and associated support equipment, IC Services will <br />be able to nearly double its revenue from this portion of the operations and will be able to <br />hire additional employees, while eliminating the concern that comes with relying on a <br />single piece of equipment. <br /> <br />Wafer Saw <br /> <br />Wafer saw is the process by which IC Services singulate the individual integrated circuits <br />from the silicon wafer. <br /> <br />IC Services currently has four fully automated wafer saws and one semiautomatic wafer <br />saw. These five saws are currently running quite close to full capacity. Our forecast for <br />2001 indicates that we will be out of saw capacity by February. Our forecast also <br />indicates that we will need a second new saw by March, a third by July and a fourth by <br />October. Without the new saws, we will not only not be able to grow the business, we <br />will lose business as current customers leave to fmd suppliers that are capable of growing <br />with them. <br /> <br />These additional saws, along with the other pieces of equipment listed, will allow IC <br />Services to grow from a $3 million company in 2000 to a $6 million company in 2001. <br /> <br />Auto Inspection <br /> <br />Auto inspection is the process by which IC Services employs sophisticated automated <br />inspection equipment to inspect the surface of the integrated circuit for defects that could <br />cause failures in subsequent manufacturing processes or in the field. <br />