RosettaNet Forms Semiconductor Manufacturing Board inMajor Expansion of E-Commerce Standards...

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2000

RosettaNet Wednesday announced an expansion of its global organization to enable the Semiconductor Manufacturing (SM) industry to join the two-year-old global initiative to develop and implement standardized

RosettaNet's membership now runs the gamut of technology sectors that produce everything from the silicon in computer chips to enterprise desktop computer systems.

"The new Semiconductor Manufacturing Board is an excellent cross-section of the industry, with companies specializing in wafer fabrication, fabless design, assembly, integrated device manufacturing, and materials," said Jennifer Hamilton, RosettaNet CEO. "Participation of semiconductor manufacturers essentially completes a supply chain that stretches from silicon refining to enterprise desktops, involving hundreds of companies and a trillion-dollar worldwide economy."

The RosettaNet executive board has authorized formation of an SM board and accepted membership of 19 companies that are meeting this week in Hong Kong to adopt bylaws and to determine organizational roles. Member companies are: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Agilent Technologies, Amkor Technology Inc., Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, JSR Corp., Lucent Technologies, Motorola, National Semiconductor Corp., NEC Corp., Philips Semiconductors, Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd., Sumitomo Bakelite, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd., Texas Instruments, Toppan Printing Company Ltd., United Microelectronics Corp., Winbond Electronics Corp. and Xilinx.

The SM Board is the third to be formed since RosettaNet was formally launched in 1998 by a group of leading information technology (IT) firms that comprise a major portion of the PC supply chain. A consortium of electronic components (EC) manufacturers subsequently petitioned for membership and an EC board was formed in August 1999.

At that time the original membership was re-designated the IT board, and an executive board was formed with three representatives each from the IT and EC boards and the RosettaNet chief executive officer. The SM board will also name three representatives to the executive board.

SM board members can influence a new group of Solution and Coalition Partners to participate in RosettaNet. Solution Partners include IT architects, business process consultants and software developers who have active roles in implementing applications and developing solutions that speed adoption of RosettaNet standards by supply chain companies.

Coalition Partners include other standards organizations and industry associations. Both types of providers are invited to join the more than 300 companies and non-profit organizations that participate in the RosettaNet consortium today.

SM board members will be tasked with the same responsibilities as IT and EC boards. For example, they will participate in standards development, adopt the RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF) as a standard for exchanging Partner Interface Processes(TM) (PIPs(TM)) and actively promote RosettaNet to their non-member trading partners. Members fund all RosettaNet activities through annual fees and provide on-loan personnel to serve on working committees and staff positions.

RosettaNet is also launching two new regional boards this week in Singapore and Taiwan, involving additional companies committed to adopting RosettaNet's global standards. Regional organizations enable Supply Chain, Solution and Coalition Partners to collaborate on implementation issues that emerge from regional business practices, while developing a more localized infrastructure for technical, educational and marketing programs.

Companies involved in the Semiconductor Manufacturing industry that would like to participate in the RosettaNet standards initiative can contact Mary Schoonmaker, RosettaNet vice president of marketing, at 714/918-4360.

About RosettaNet

RosettaNet is an independent, self-funded, non-profit consortium dedicated to the development and deployment of standard electronic business interfaces to align the processes between supply chain partners on a global basis.

More than 300 companies representing more than $1 trillion in annual information technology, electronic components and semiconductor manufacturing revenues currently participate in RosettaNet's standards development, strategy and implementation activities. A complete list of member companies and more information on RosettaNet can be found at www.rosettanet.org.