Santa Clara, CA, July 18, 2001 - Advantest Corporation, a leader in automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry and in electronic measuring instrumentation, is establishing a new research and development center for product development and technical support for its electronic measuring instruments in Portland, Oregon this month.

The Advantest America Design Center, Inc. (AAD) will develop and expand Advantest's electronic measuring instruments business in the U.S. in product planning and development, marketing, and manufacturing.

Leveraging on core competencies and resources amassed since its establishment in 1954, Advantest's measuring instruments have remained a critical component in the development of next-generation wireless, and fiber-optic networks, as well as to a myriad of consumer and industrial electronics. Recent successes include network and protocol analyzers for mobile communications, and spectrum analyzers used in the testing of fiber-optic communications. In the U.S., Advantest currently markets its electronic measuring instruments through Tektronix.

Toshio Maruyama, president and CEO of Advantest, says, "Having established Advantest America nearly two decades ago and having served the semiconductor industry here from a U.S. base, we understand the enormous business advantage of having a physical presence in Oregon, devoted to the instruments portion of our business.

"We are very excited by this new venture, and look forward to working collegially in both product development and product support with the U.S. electronic measuring instruments industry," he adds.

The U.S. is the largest electronic measuring instruments market in the world.

The President and CEO of AAD will be Masakazu Ando, who is also a Managing Director of Advantest Corporation. The COO will be Kazuo Kato. Immediate plans call for hiring 14 engineers and staff.

About Advantest
Advantest Corporation is one of the world's leading automatic test equipment suppliers to the semiconductor industry, and is also a producer of electronic and optoelectronic instruments and systems.

A global company, Advantest has long offered total ATE solutions, and serves the industry in every component of semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and software. Its logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers, and device handlers, are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor fabrication lines in the world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its North American subsidiary in 1982. Advantest America, Inc.; Advantest America R&D Center, Inc.; and the newly established Advantest Test Engineering Corporation are based in Santa Clara, California.