Bönnigheim/Germany - Chiryu/Japan, August 2002 - EKRA GmbH, world renowned manufacturer of high performance stencil and screen printers and Fuji Machine Mfg., global leader in Surface Mount Technology (SMT) placement equipment for the electronics industry, announced today that they have entered into an OEM agreement to be effective immediately. Fuji will integrate the complete range of EKRA printers into its SMT production lines. The agreement also includes a mutual exchange of technology. The agreement was concluded on September 10, 2002 in Chiryu, Japan after final discussions between Ryoyu Asai, President and CEO of Fuji, and Roland Heynen, Executive Vice President of EKRA, who was visiting Fuji for final negotiations.

Fuji will market the integrated SMT solutions world-wide and will also offer after sales support to its customers. EKRA's printer family will be fully integrated into Fuji's SMT line configuration, not only through a mechanical hardware interface but also through the Fuji software host interface to guarantee full compatibility. The advantage for the customers is that they can configure their production line according to their own special requirements - from table-top printers to high-speed systems, for small or large volume production needs.

Ryoyu Asai said, "Before we made our decision to integrate third party printers into our SMT production lines, we spent a great deal of time conducting an extremely intensive evaluation of the market. We found that EKRA delivers the most sophisticated, yet solid technology in the marketplace. This made EKRA our preferred choice. There are many players in the SMT equipment market who can deliver total line solutions. Our core competence in pick and place machines combined with EKRA's core competence in stencil printing makes our solution a unique choice for the customer."

Roland Heynen is excited about the new agreement. "Our customers will profit from the synergistic effects between the two companies. Fuji Machine Mfg, the global market leader for pick and place machines and EKRA with its know how in material deposition technology, will bring together the best of both companies for the customer. Over the years, EKRA has developed an extensive range of high performance solder printers from table-top machines and standard in-line printers to high-speed printing systems. Our two companies will join forces to work on new developments that will give our customers a competitive edge in quality as well as in time to market."