EXHIBIT 99.2

 CONTACT:     Laura Guerrant (Financial Community)   AGENCY:  Sheryl Moreno
              Asyst Technologies, Inc.                        MCA, Inc.
              510/661-5000                                    650/968-8900
              510/661-5160 (fax)                              650/968-8990 (fax)

              Lisa Garcia (Editorial/Media)
              Asyst Technologies, Inc.
              510/661-5000
              510/661-5166 (fax)



               ASYST TECHNOLOGIES, INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF
                            HINE DESIGN INCORPORATED
                                        
FREMONT, Calif., August 3, 1998--Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASYT), the
leading supplier of manufacturing automation and Standard Mechanical InterFace
(SMIF) isolation systems to the global semiconductor industry, announced that
it has completed its acquisition of Hine Design Incorporated, effective July
31, 1998. The acquisition, originally announced on July 6, 1998, was
structured as a purchase of all of the outstanding capital stock of Hine
Design for approximately $11.3 million in cash. In addition, Asyst granted
options to purchase Asyst common stock in substitution for outstanding, vested
options to purchase capital stock of Hine worth approximately $1 million and
assumed certain debt liabilities of Hine Design of approximately$11.7 million.
Hine Design, a leading supplier of wafer-handling robots for semiconductor
process tools, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asyst.

ABOUT HINE DESIGN: Hine Design Incorporated is a privately held company with
headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. specializing in the design and manufacture
of wafer and flat panel display material handling solutions for original
equipment manufacturers. Founded in 1983 by Derek Hine, CEO, the Company
continues to pursue its vision of providing customers with the highest quality
and maximum value in material handling systems. Hine Design is an ISO9001
certified company and has received Lam Research Corp.'s Supplier of the Year
award for five consecutive years and GaSonics International's first
Outstanding Supplier award.

ABOUT ASYST: The pioneer of the Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF), Asyst
Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of automated material handling
systems critical to seamless factory automation in the most advanced fabs
worldwide. Asyst's comprehensive solutions, which include industry-leading 200
mm and 300 mm product offerings, result in greater fab profitability and
productivity. Through innovative developments in the software and integration
services area, Asyst Software, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, provides
integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers fully automated solutions addressing
their most advanced manufacturing challenges. Founded in 1984, Asyst
Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Fremont, Calif., with facilities in
Europe and the Pacific Rim. Asyst Software, Inc., is located in San Jose, CA.
Asyst's homepage is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.asyst.com.

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