Nepean, Ontario and San Jose, California - June 14, 2000 - JDS Uniphase Corporation (Nasdaq: JDSU and TSE: JDU) today announced its execution of a definitive agreement to purchase a 177,000 sq. ft. building situated on 107 acres in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, for expansion of its Cronos MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) manufacturing facilities. The building previously housed a Motorola semiconductor facility.
MEMS devices are mechanically controllable silicon microstructures that can be used to switch, attenuate, tune or otherwise control light. The manufacturing processes are based on well established semiconductor industry techniques. For many design applications, MEMS devices are believed to take up less space and consume less power than traditional electrical and electromechanical components, and are less costly to produce in large volumes. They are expected to play a key role in a wide variety of future-generation optical components. Such components include optical switches, attenuators, gain equalizers, dispersion compensators and programmable add/drop modules.
MEMS technology is a key strategic resource for JDS Uniphase and our customers. This expansion, less than two months after our acquisition of Cronos, demonstrates our commitment to this technology," remarked Charles J. Abbe, President and COO of JDS Uniphase. "This investment is further evidence of the worldwide commitment of JDS Uniphase to increase our manufacturing capacity to support the needs of our fiberoptic telecommunications customers.
"We believe this new facility can allow Cronos not only to increase capacity but also respond to the industry mandate for ever-faster time-to-market," added Robert Bratter, President and CEO of Cronos. "MEMS is a core optical networking technology with broad applicability to switching, attenuation, alignment and other fiberoptic communications applications. We believe this new facility will give us the capacity to better serve the requirements of our wide range of customers."
Cronos expects to complete the transaction and occupy the facility within the next two months, and to start production there during the second calendar quarter of 2001.
JDS Uniphase is a high technology company that designs, develops, manufactures and distributes a comprehensive range of products for the growing fiberoptic communications market. These products are deployed by system manufacturers worldwide to develop advanced optical networks for the telecommunications and cable television industries. JDS Uniphase is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol JDSU, and the exchangeable shares of JDS Uniphase Canada Ltd. Are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol JDU. More information on JDS Uniphase is available at http://www.jdsunph.com/
The statements contained within this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as "will," "intends," "strategies, " "believes," "expects," and similar words. Such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, (a) any statement or implication regarding the current and future capability of MEMS technology in future-generation optical switches, crossconnects and other optical components and products, or the ability of JDS Uniphase and Cronos to offer and produce MEMS-based optical products in the future; (b) the statements regarding our ability to increase capacity and respond to the industry mandate for ever-faster time-to-market, and the expected dates of completion of the acquisition and production commencement at the facility. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, factors discussed from time to time in reports filed by JDS Uniphase Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and JDS Uniphase assumes no future obligation to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.