Society's ballooning appetite for devices controlled by semiconductor-integrated circuits emphasizes the need for high-quality chip processing equipment. One of the world's best known makers of such equipment is headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates (NASDAQ: VSEA) is engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing, and servicing of semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The firm is the world's top manufacturer of ion implantation systems, which are used to build the transistors that are the basis of integrated circuits. The company also offers consumables, product upgrades, services, spare parts, and support. Varian Semiconductor has sold systems to each of the twenty largest chip makers in the world and has won first place on the prestigious VLSI Research 10 BEST list, in eight of the last nine years. Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) is a major competitor.
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