Ion Implant Services Celebrates 20 Years

March 13, 1998 - San Jose, CA

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Ion Implant Services (IISSM) today announced that 1998 marks the company's 20-year anniversary. The company was founded in 1978 by Dr. Wes Weisenberger and has grown to become the world's largest supplier of contract ion implant services.


"I started the company because semiconductor manufacturers were having a difficult time running implanters efficiently. At one time it was estimated over a million wafers a year were being mis-implanted in the Valley," says Dr. Weisenberger, "and we thought we had a solution that would work." Weisenberger, who did his thesis work on ion implantation in the late 60's was an early pioneer in the field. "I thought that by applying a quality focus we could render a service to the industry and make a business for ourselves." Since then, the company has promoted customer service and round-the-clock operation to become the leading supplier of outsourced ion implant services. Wes' business card reads "Coach/Facilitator" as his title and is indicative of his philosophical approach toward guiding the company's growth. Wes believes the company should provide fulfilling careers for its employees, should work toward making its customers significantly more successful, should treat its suppliers fairly, and should strive to be a positive influence in the community it serves. In 1990 IISSM was the first company to meet the Santa Clara County Model Clean Air Ordinance.

Besides its focus on quality and technology, the company provides a unique work environment and management style. "We believe great things happen as the result of a team approach," says Marc Bone, Chief Financial Officer, "so we have organized our shifts around dedicated teams. Each has operations, maintenance, quality, and customer service members and they, as a team, are responsible for overall output and quality monitoring." The teams take an active part in setting their goals and are responsible for measuring the results. Bonuses are rewarded for goal attainment and progress.

"IISSM is pleased with its continuous growth and dominance in the industry," reports Randall Graf, regional sales manager. "We will continue looking for opportunities to serve our customers and will concentrate on providing excellent customer service with high quality, rapid turnaround ion implant capability."