Exhibit 99
[GRAPHIC OMITTED] NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brian James
Executive VP and Chief Financial
Officer
June 20, 2002 (781) 467-3500
ADE CORPORATION NAMES NEW
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
WESTWOOD, Mass. - ADE Corporation (Nasdaq: ADEX), a leading supplier of wafer
measurement and inspection systems for the silicon manufacturing industry, today
announced the election of Chris Koliopoulos, Ph.D., as president and chief
executive officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Robert C. Abbe, 64, who
has served as president and chief executive officer since he founded the Company
in 1967. Dr. Koliopoulos, 49, will continue to serve as a director of the
Company. He previously served as a corporate vice president and president of the
Company's subsidiary, ADE Phase Shift. Mr. Abbe will become a consultant to the
Company and remains a member of the ADE Board of Directors.
"On behalf of the entire board, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to
Robert for the legacy of technology excellence he created for ADE," said Landon
Clay, chairman of ADE's Board of Directors. "He was the driving force behind a
series of breakthroughs over the past 35 years that enabled ADE to establish
itself as the world's leading supplier of metrology and inspection systems for
the silicon wafer and data storage industries."
"At the same time, we are pleased to be promoting Chris to this position," Mr.
Clay continued. "He is a highly respected industry veteran who has played a
critical and growing role in establishing the Company's technical preeminence in
optical metrology. Chris possesses a solid understanding of ADE technologies,
customers and markets and has the ability to translate this understanding into
new business."
"Robert has been a visionary in the industry for nearly four decades and has set
the stage for ADE's next growth phase," said Dr. Koliopoulos. "I look forward to
following in his footsteps and extending the Company's long tradition of
advanced technology leadership. The top priorities of our management team will
be to capitalize fully on the expected ramp up in 300mm capital equipment
spending and return ADE to profitability."
Dr. Koliopoulos co-founded Phase Shift Technology, Inc., which merged with ADE
in 1998. Since then, he spearheaded the development of ADE's NanoMapper wafer
nanotopography system, which has become widely recognized as the worldwide
industry standard for qualifying incoming 300mm silicon wafers. Prior to
founding Phase Shift, Dr. Koliopoulos founded and served as president of WYKO
Corporation, a provider of optical interferometric metrology systems, now part
of Veeco. Dr. Koliopoulos also served on the faculty of the Optical Sciences
Center at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Koliopoulos has a Bachelor of Science degree in optics from the University
of Rochester. He earned his Master of Science and Ph. D. degrees in optics from
the University of Arizona.
Conference Call Reminder
ADE will host a conference call to discuss this announcement as well as the
Company's fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday, June 26, 2002 at 8:30
a.m. Eastern Time (ET). To participate in the webcast, please visit the
"Investor Relations" section at the ADE website, located at www.ade.com, fifteen
minutes prior to the start of the conference call. This will allow participants
the time to download and install any necessary audio software. The software and
broadcast can be obtained at no charge to the user. A replay of the call will be
available on the website two hours after the completion of the conference call
and will continue to be available for a period of one week.
About ADE Corporation
ADE Corporation is a leading supplier of metrology and inspection systems for
the silicon wafer and data storage industries. The Company's systems analyze and
report product quality at critical manufacturing process steps and provide
quality certification data that is relied upon by semiconductor and data storage
manufacturers. The Company's systems also are used in the fabrication of
integrated circuits. To learn more about ADE, visit the Company's Web site at
www.ade.com.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject
to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Those
statements that make reference to the Company's expectations, predictions and
anticipations should be considered forward-looking statements. These statements
include, but are not limited to, those associated with maintaining and enhancing
ADE's market opportunities, the anticipated ramp up of 300mm spending and those
associated with the Company's return to profitability. These statements involve
risks and uncertainties including those associated with the success of ADE's
product offerings in meeting customer needs within the timeframes required by
customers in these markets. Further information on potential factors that could
affect ADE Corporation's business is described in the Company's reports on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended April 30, 2001.