AMTECH SYSTEMS INC

OUR COMPANY

We provide equipment, consumables and services for semiconductor wafer fabrication and device packaging. Our products are used in fabricating semiconductor devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) power devices, digital and analog devices, power electronic packages, advanced semiconductor packages and electronic assemblies. We sell these products to semiconductor device and module manufacturers worldwide, particularly in Asia, North America and Europe.

Our semiconductor fabrication solutions include consumables, equipment and services for wafer polishing, cleaning, slicing and dicing. Our thermal processing solutions include reflow equipment for chip packaging and electronic assembly, diffusion furnaces and furnaces used to produce ceramic based power semiconductor packages and passive electronic components.

The focus of our strategy is to expand our consumables and service business for semiconductor wafer fabrication and to capitalize on opportunities for thermal processing equipment in advanced packaging and power electronic applications.

We categorize each of our subsidiaries into one of two reportable segments, based primarily on the industries they serve:

These reportable segments are comprised of the following five wholly-owned subsidiaries:

Thermal Processing Solutions (formerly called Semiconductor):

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BTU, a Delaware corporation based in Westford, Massachusetts, with operations in China, Malaysia and the UK, acquired in January 2015.

Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions (formerly called Material and Substrate):

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PR Hoffman, an Arizona corporation based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, acquired in July 1997;

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Advanced Compound Materials, Inc., a Delaware corporation based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, founded in 2023;

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Intersurface Dynamics, a Connecticut corporation based in Bethel, Connecticut, acquired in March 2021; and

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Entrepix, an Arizona corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona, acquired in January 2023.

In both of our divisions we are focused on semiconductor and related processes and markets. Amtech is uniquely positioned in that our products are employed throughout the early and late stages of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. Our products are key to the earliest stages of silicon or silicon carbide wafer manufacturing, then in semiconductor device manufacturing, then advanced semiconductor packaging and then finally in electronics assembly. Our thermal processing solutions business provides high performance equipment used in solder reflow operations for advanced semiconductor packaging and electronic assembly, furnaces used for producing power semiconductor packaging substrates and electronic components, and diffusion furnaces used in wafer processing.

Reflow operations provide a cost effective, high throughput process for electronic packaging and assembly. Our equipment provides the precise temperature, atmospheric control and uniformity required to achieve high yields in mass production reflow operations. Our flux management system scrubs oven gasses to minimize downtime, reduce defects from flux contamination and reduce environmental emissions.

The semiconductor industry is historically cyclical with constantly evolving technical requirements and advancements and can be subject to tariffs and sourcing restrictions driven by geopolitical tensions. Therefore, future growth and profitability will depend on cyclical trends, our ability to produce equipment regionally and meeting performance requirements as technical requirements evolve. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due primarily to a prolonged downturn in demand for industrial equipment, computers and smartphones following a spike in demand for these products during the COVID pandemic and a decline in growth expectations for electric vehicles.

Our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions business provides processing consumables, equipment and services for wafer production. Our PR Hoffman consumables are used for lapping and Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) processes in the manufacturing of SiC and Si power devices, analog devices, optics, ceramics and photonics. Our Entrepix products and services include equipment for SiC and Si wafer cleaning, testing equipment used for optimizing CMP processes, CMP equipment parts and services, and CMP foundry services. Our Intersurface Dynamics products include lubricants, cooling fluids and cleaning chemicals used for semiconductor wafer and optics processing and dispersants for CMP slurries.

CMP processes are used to provide a high degree of flatness, parallelism, and surface finish. Common applications for this technology are silicon wafers used for semiconductor digital and analog devices, SiC wafers for power devices, optics and ceramics. These devices are used in a variety of applications including computers and servers, automotive electronics, industrial electronics, mobile phones, telecommunications equipment and medical devices.

We believe our product portfolio, developed through a track record of technological innovation as well as the integration of key acquisitions, provides exceptional value to semiconductor manufacturing by increasing yields, efficiency and throughput. We have been providing manufacturing solutions to the semiconductor industry for over 30 years and have leveraged our semiconductor technology and industry presence to capitalize on growth opportunities.

For information regarding net revenue, operating income and identifiable assets attributable to each of our two reportable segments, see Note 16 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this Annual Report. For information on the products of each reportable segment, see “Thermal Processing Solutions Products” and “Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions Products” within this “Item 1. Business” section. For information regarding risks to our business, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Our fiscal year is from October 1 to September 30. Unless otherwise stated, references to the years 2024, 2023 and 2022 relate to the fiscal years ended September 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

ACQUISITION

On January 17, 2023 we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Entrepix, an Arizona based manufacturer of chemical mechanical polishing (“CMP”) technology for a cash purchase price of $39.2 million. Entrepix’s CMP technology portfolio and water cleaning equipment complements our existing substrate polishing and wet process chemical offerings. Entrepix's results of operations are included in our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment from the date of acquisition.

GROWTH AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY

We believe there are three key secular trends that are key to our future growth:

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Advanced Mobility - Advanced Mobility encompasses both the development and adoption of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, including both EV and HEV, as well as advanced automotive electronics including Advanced Driver Assistance Systems ("ADAS"), infotainment and telematics. Our products intersect these markets in multiple ways: CMP consumables and wafer cleaning systems for the SiC substrates used in the EV power invertors; thermal processing systems for producing EV battery cooling systems and ceramic substrates for HEV power semiconductor packaging; and reflow ovens for ADAS, infotainment and telematics component assemblies.

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Supply Chain Resiliency - There is a global trend of creating supply chain resiliency by expanding and/or relocating operations outside of mainland China. We believe these facilities will create demand for new equipment and services in growing regions like Mexico and Southeast Asia.

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Artificial Intelligence - With Artificial Intelligence ("AI"), our reflow oven systems are the favored choice for Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test Services ("OSATS") providers who perform advanced packaging of the AI chips.

We continue to invest in research and development, including the introduction of our next-generation reflow platform, Aurora, in 2023. Historically, we have grown our business primarily through acquisitions, including the businesses that currently comprise our two reportable segments in the Thermal Processing Solutions and Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions industries: BTU, PR Hoffman, Intersurface Dynamics and Entrepix. Our 2023 acquisition of Entrepix bolstered our offerings in the CMP technology space and incorporated wafer cleaning into our existing capital equipment product lines. We will continue to pursue acquisitions to supplement organic growth and have added market development resources globally to accelerate organic growth.

Grow consumables revenue to reduce vulnerability to semiconductor business cycles. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, and the conditions of this industry remain volatile. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due to the capacity that was pulled in during COVID as demand for consumer electronics spiked during the pandemic and reduced expectations for EV growth rates. While all industry participants have been impacted by these fluctuations in demand, they can be particularly problematic for equipment suppliers who rely on capacity expansion to drive orders for their equipment. These sharp business cycles not only impact short-term financial results but can also weaken the strength of suppliers as they right-size their organizations to align with the reduced production demand. Our line of consumables products, including templates, carriers, polishing-related chemicals and spare parts, generates continuous revenue streams regardless of capacity expansions as they are used in equipment already in service. In an effort to minimize both the financial shortfalls and organizational harm of these business cycles, we are seeking to increase the consumables portion of our business. Our initial focus is on aggressively growing the consumable business in our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment, which was approximately 32% of our consolidated revenue in fiscal 2024. In addition, we are working to transform the aftermarket sales business in our Thermal Processing Solutions division, leveraging the strength of our expansive installed base to increase higher-margin sales of replacement parts and services.

Increase the portion of our product line portfolio tied to high-growth, megatrend end markets such as EV and HEV. We believe the opportunity for organic growth through strategic alignment to projects tied to megatrends is an opportunity that exists across all our divisions. In the Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment, processing of SiC substrates is directly tied to the production of power modules used in electric vehicles and in other green technology applications such as wind and solar power. Our Thermal Processing Solutions segment has multiple intersections with EV and HEV production, including the use of our diffusion furnaces and surface-mount technology reflow products to manufacture power semiconductors and our high-temp furnaces used in DBC applications used in HEV power modules. In order to increase the portion of our business tied to these high-growth megatrends, we are employing multiple tactics and strategies, including strategic selling and customer-centric product development.

Customer-centric product development in R&D. In order to both increase the output of our development teams and mitigate the risk associated with the introduction of new products, we are emphasizing and prioritizing customer-centric product development in all of our divisions. For example, the development and roll out of the Aurora reflow system for BTU employed direct customer input in the manufacturing requirements, and the new systems were first deployed as beta units to customers in multiple regions for validation. In addition, development of equipment and aftermarket solutions at Entrepix has focused on eliminating customer pain points, often in areas overlooked by the industry. We have added key customer-facing resources for our Semiconductor Fabrications Solutions segment to enable this type of customer collaboration in all geographic regions. In evaluating potential R&D projects in our portfolio, opportunities where a strong customer partner or partners exist will be given priority over internally-driven programs.

Enhance and invest in legacy business operations. Our legacy business is key to funding both organic and inorganic growth opportunities across our divisions. Throughout 2024, we have been re-enforcing Amtech’s core values (Safety, Customer Focus and Continuous Improvement) across all divisions and locations. We have increased cross-divisional sharing of resources and expertise, such as best practices and global sourcing. This strategy has been developed by our CEO, CFO and CHRO, in conjunction with our Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Sales and Customer Service, Segment Managers and Corporate Director of Strategic Marketing, to ensure these advancements are implemented uniformly across all Amtech operations. During 2024, we made investments to strengthen and expand our manufacturing capacity for CMP consumables to meet anticipated growth demands from the SiC industry segment and reduce single-point failure risks to our business. We also relocated our domestic BTU facility to a smaller facility that significantly reduced fixed costs and was better aligned with a fab-lite manufacturing model that was implemented with the support of contract manufacturing partners.

THERMAL PROCESSING AND SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION SOLUTIONS OPERATIONS

We provide reflow equipment for chip packaging and electronic assembly, diffusion furnaces for wafer processing and furnaces used to produce ceramic based power semiconductor packages and passive electronic components as well as wafer cleaning equipment, CMP polishing consumables, wafer processing lubricants, coolants and cleaning chemicals and related services to leading semiconductor manufacturers.

As demand for increasingly sophisticated electronic devices continues, new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), EVs, HEVs, advances in consumer electronics, 5G communications, and IoT will help drive future growth. Electronic equipment continues to become more complex, yet end users demand smaller, lighter and less expensive devices. This trend, in turn, requires increased performance and reduced cost for electronic assemblies, printed circuit boards and semiconductors. In response to these developments, manufacturers are increasingly employing more sophisticated production and assembly techniques requiring more advanced manufacturing equipment and related consumables.

Although the semiconductor market has experienced significant growth over the past fifteen years, it remains cyclical by nature. The market is characterized by short-term periods of under or over utilization of capacity for most semiconductors, including microprocessors, memory, power management chips and other logic devices. When capacity utilization decreases due to the addition of excess capacity, semiconductor manufacturers typically slow their purchasing of capital equipment. Conversely, when capacity utilization increases, so does capital spending. We believe the continued expansion of our consumable and aftermarket product offerings, primarily in our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment, will enable us to partially offset some of these cyclical effects.

THERMAL PROCESSING SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS

Our furnace equipment is manufactured in our facilities in Massachusetts and China and via contract manufacturers in Canada and Mexico. The following paragraphs describe the products that comprise our current product lines in our semiconductor business:

Continuous Thermal Processing Systems. We produce and sell thermal processing systems used in the solder reflow and curing stages of printed circuit board assembly as well as systems for the thermal processes used in advanced semiconductor packaging including 2.5D and flip-chip. In electronics assembly our ovens are used primarily in the advanced, high-density segments of the market that utilize surface mount technology.

Flip-chip reflow provides the physical and electronic bond of the semiconductor device to its package. Our range of convection reflow systems, utilizing closed loop convection technology, are rated at up to 400°C and operate in air or nitrogen atmospheres. These products are manufactured at our ISO 9001:2015 certified facility in Shanghai, China and utilize forced impingement convection technology to transfer heat to the substrate. Using configurable heating elements of up to eight kilowatts, they can process substrates in dual-lane, dual-speed configurations, thereby enabling our customers to double production without increasing the machine’s footprint. These products are available in four models based on the heated lengths of thermal processing chambers. Heated length is based on the customer's required production rate and loading requirements.

High-Temperature Belt Furnace. We also produce and sell high-temperature belt furnaces, which have been manufactured in North America forover six decades with ISO 9001:2015 quality certification safe-guarding that each unit is subject to exacting build and test criteria. These furnaces operate at temperatures up to 1180°C and are capable of processing in controlled atmospheres, such as nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen. Applications include DBC, furnace brazing, annealing, glass-to-metal sealing, sintering, and heat-treating for diverse markets including automotive, semiconductors, aerospace and medical.

Horizontal Diffusion Furnaces. We produce and sell 200mm and 300mm horizontal diffusion and deposition furnaces. Our horizontal furnaces currently address several steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process, including diffusion, high temperature oxidation (used in silicon power chips), and annealing.

Our horizontal furnaces generally consist of three large modules: the load station, where the loading of the wafers occurs; the furnace section, which is comprised of one to four thermal reactor chambers; and the gas distribution cabinet, where the flow of gases into the reactor chambers is controlled and is often configured through a range of options to meet the requirements of our customers’ particular process needs. The horizontal furnaces utilize a combination of existing industry and proprietary technologies and are sold primarily to semiconductor customers. Our products are capable of processing all currently existing wafer sizes.

SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION SOLUTIONS PRODUCTS

Our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment manufactures the products described below in Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Connecticut and sells them under our Entrepix, PR Hoffman and Intersurface Dynamics brand names.

Double-Sided Wafer Cleaning System. The Entrepix Double-Sided Wafer Cleaning System (OnTrak) is a single wafer cleaner that uses water or mild chemistries supplied through PVA brushes to clean both sides of a substrate simultaneously. These wafers (substrates) require cleaning following various process steps that leave the substrate contaminated by material particles. The system is designed to accept wet wafers in and send each substrate through two brush cleaning steps followed by a rinse and a spin dry while also providing heat via a high-powered lamp to dry any residual liquid droplets. The Entrepix cleaner is commonly used in post polishing steps, prime silicon/silicon carbide cleaning, epitaxial silicon deposition processes, and general wafer cleaning needs.

Entegrity Head Tester. The Entrepix Entegrity Head Tester is a table-top CMP head testing system that provides our customers with invaluable data regarding their head consumables that make up the polishing heads. The system allows users to customize operation and recipe programming. This allows the user to test individual zones for leaks or cross talk and track each head's performance by generating data that can be used to track issues with head rebuild before it is installed on the polisher. The Entegrity’s user friendly touch interface displays data in real time, and also provides a live graph of the individual zone’s performance. The ability to scan each head barcode prior to testing allows the user to create a data set for each specific head that can be viewed on the screen or downloaded via network connection.

Substrate Carriers. We manufacture carriers in a variety of sizes and materials. Sizes range from 3 to 38 inches in diameter using a variety of special steels, laminates and extruded polymer raw materials. Silicon wafers, compound semiconductor wafers, and large optics require these special insert carriers. These carriers combine the strength of hardened steel as the processing backbone with a softer plastic material in the work holes known as an insert. Inserts are permanently molded into the work holes via a pressurized process. These inserted work holes provide smoother processing, improved wafer total thickness variation (TTV) and improved wafer edge quality. Insert carriers are available for all wafer sizes from 75mm to 450mm and can be made from hardened and tempered carbon steel or specialized stainless steel when metal contamination is a processing concern. Insert carriers are widely accepted as the industry solution for both prime wafer and reclaim wafer manufacturers when dual sided lapping or polishing are utilized in the front-end wafer process.

Substrate Polishing Templates. Our polishing templates are used to securely hold SiC, silicon, sapphire or other wafer materials in place during single-sided wax-free CMP polishing processes. Polishing templates are customized for specific applications and are manufactured to extremely tight tolerances. We offer a variety of options to provide the best solution for each specific process. Polishing templates are manufactured for all brands of tools and virtually any wax-free customer process. Critical front-end wafer surface specifications are finalized during the polishing process.

Substrate Process Chemicals. Through Intersurface Dynamics, we produce and sell substrate process chemicals which are used to achieve specific surface morphologies on a variety of materials. Our substrate process chemical customers include some of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductor devices, silicon wafers, precision optics, ophthalmic lens, advanced displays and flat glass. We offer three different product lines: Tensor Series Products, Vector Series Products, and Challenge Series Products. Tensor Series Products are used by manufacturers of integrated circuits in applications such as cleaning, etching, dicing and CMP. Vector Series Products were designed specifically for grinding, sawing, lapping, cleaning, etching and polishing semiconductor materials such as silicon wafers. Challenge Series Products address similar processes for manufacturers of precision optics, technical ceramics and advanced displays helping to achieve optimum yields.

MANUFACTURING, RAW MATERIALS AND SUPPLY CHAIN

Our Thermal Processing Equipment manufacturing activities consist primarily of engineering design to meet specific and evolving customer needs and procurement and assembly of various commercial and proprietary components into finished thermal processing systems in Massachusetts and China or via our contract manufacturing partners in Canada and Mexico.

Our manufacturing activities in the polishing business include laser-cutting and other fabrication steps in producing lapping and polishing consumables, including carriers, templates, gears, wear items and spare parts in our ISO 9001:2015 certified facility in Pennsylvania, as well as our facility in South Carolina, from raw materials manufactured to our specifications by our suppliers. These products are engineered and designed for specific applications and to meet the increasingly tight tolerances required by our customers. Many items, such as proprietary components for our semiconductor equipment, are purchased from suppliers who manufacture these items to our specifications.

Our cleaner manufacturing activities include electrical and mechanical assembly of components and assemblies for the construction of two versions of our double-side scrubbers/cleaners at our Phoenix facility. These components and assemblies are engineered and designed for specific applications and to meet the increasingly tight tolerances required by our customers. Many items are purchased from suppliers who manufacture these items to our specifications. We also utilize our second manufacturing center in north Phoenix to manufacture and machine parts from raw materials, for our own use in construction of the cleaners as well as for customers.

Final assembly and tests of our machines are performed within our manufacturing facilities. Quality control is maintained through inspection of incoming materials and components, in-process inspection during equipment assembly, testing of assemblies and final inspection and, when practical, operation of manufactured equipment prior to shipment.

Our polishing supplies business relies on key suppliers for certain materials, including specialized steel mills in Germany and Japan, an injection molding machine, a single-sourced pad supplier from Japan and an adhesive manufacturer. Injection molding for our insert carriers is subcontracted out to a third party. To minimize the risk of production and service interruptions and/or shortages of key parts, we seek to maintain appropriate inventory levels of key raw materials and parts. In addition, in order to respond to the anticipated growth rates for SiC substrate manufacturing and to provide our customers with assurance for business continuity and risk mitigation, we have opened a new manufacturing facility for SiC related polishing consumables in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This facility, run by our ACMI subsidiary, not only provides additional manufacturing capacity, but it also brings us geographically closer to key customers in the region allowing for even faster response times.

During 2023, we partnered with contract manufacturers (“CM”) to improve our lead times and diversify our manufacturing operations. One CM is located in Canada and is building our high temperature belt furnaces. By partnering with this CM, we achieved record shipments of our high temperature belt furnaces. We also have partnered with a CM in Mexico, who will build our Pyramax furnaces and ship to our North American and European customers. In addition, we are using a CM partner as well as our Shanghai factory as backup sources to manufacture key components for certain high temperature belt furnaces. This CM strategy is key to ensuring we are not concentrated in one geographic location and to give us additional capacity during peak semiconductor cycles.

CUSTOMERS AND SEASONALITY

Our customers are primarily manufacturers of semiconductor substrates, devices and electronic assemblies. Additionally, our Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions segment also serves customers in the ceramics and optics industries. During 2024, 59% of our net revenue came from customers outside of North America. This group represented 52% of revenues in 2023. In 2024, net revenue was distributed among customers in the following geographic regions:

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North/South America 41% (39% of which is in the United States)

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Asia 43% (including 20% in China, 12% in Malaysia and 8% in Taiwan)

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Europe 16% (including 6% in Germany and 3% in Czech Republic)

No customer accounted for 10% of our net revenues in 2024. In 2023, one Thermal Processing Solutions customer accounted for 11% of our net revenues.

Our business is not seasonal in nature, but is cyclical based on the capital equipment investment patterns of semiconductor manufacturers. These expenditure patterns are based on many factors, including capacity utilization, anticipated demand, the development of new technologies and global and regional economic conditions. Historically, these cycles typically last between 10-17 quarters, with each complete cycle made up of a contraction phase of about 4-6 quarters, followed by an expansion phase of approximately 6-11 quarters. We are currently in a longer-than-historical-average contraction cycle, which we believe is due primarily to a prolonged downturn in demand for personal computers and smartphones following a spike in demand for these products during the COVID pandemic and a reduction in anticipated growth rates for EVs.

SALES AND MARKETING

Due to the highly technical nature of our products, we market our products primarily by direct customer contact through our sales personnel and through a network of domestic and international independent sales representatives and distributors that specialize in semiconductor equipment and supplies. Our promotional activities include direct sales contacts, participation in trade shows, advertising and press releases in trade magazines and digital marketing including website SEO and pay-per-click advertising.

We use a mix of direct sales, representatives and distributors globally. Manufacturer representatives provide sales coverage in specific geographic regions and are paid a commission when products are sold. Sales to distributors are generally on terms comparable to sales to end-user customers, as our distributors generally quote their customers after first obtaining a quote from us and have an order from the end-user before placing an order with us. Our sales to distributors are not contingent on their future sales and do not include a general right of return. Historically, returns have been rare. Distributors of our semiconductor equipment do not stock a significant amount of our products, as the inventory they hold is generally limited to parts needed to provide timely repairs to customers. Our manufacturer representatives and distributors are closely managed by our global sales team.

Historically, each of our segments have been responsible for their own sales and marketing activities, including managing sales personnel and representative and distributor relationships, however, as we continue to refocus and grow our organization, we are developing opportunities for increased collaboration and teamwork across our divisions. These cross-segment collaboration opportunities will continue to be a focus at all levels and departments of our organization, as we believe they can lead to greater efficiencies while reducing operating costs. These efforts are further coordinated by our Vice President of Sales, who oversees all sales and marketing activities at each division.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING

The markets we serve are characterized by rapidly-evolving industry standards and technological change. To compete effectively, we must continually maintain or exceed the pace of such change by improving our products and our process technologies and by developing new technologies and products that are competitive based on price and performance. To assure that these technologies and products address current and future customer requirements, we obtain as much customer cooperation and input as possible, thus increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our research and development efforts. In addition, we look for strategic acquisitions that will provide us with new technologies to compete effectively in the markets in which we operate.

RD&E expenses may vary from period to period depending on the engineering projects in process. Expenses related to engineers working on strategic projects or sustaining engineering projects are recorded in RD&E. However, from time to time we add functionality to our products or develop new products during engineering and manufacturing to fulfill specifications in a customer’s order, in which case the cost of development, along with other costs of the order, are charged to cost of goods sold.

In 2024, 2023 and 2022, we recorded RD&E expense of $4.2 million, $7.3 million and $6.4 million, respectively. We plan to continue to develop new products and invest in upgrades to existing products to stay competitive in the markets we serve.

COMPETITION

We compete in several distinct equipment markets for semiconductor devices, semiconductor substrates, MEMS, semiconductor packaging, and electronics assembly, as well as the markets for supplies used in power semiconductor applications. Each of these markets is highly competitive. Our ability to compete depends on our ability to continually improve our products, processes and services, as well as our ability to develop new products that meet constantly evolving customer technical and other requirements. Significant competitive factors for succeeding in these markets include the product’s technical capability, productivity, cost-effectiveness, overall reliability, ease of use and maintenance, contamination and defect control and the level of technical service and support.

The Thermal Processing Solutions Market. Our thermal processing equipment primarily competes with equipment produced by other OEMs. Some of these manufacturers are well-established firms that are much larger and have substantially greater financial and other resources than we have with which to pursue development, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of products. Additionally, these manufacturers may generally be better situated to withstand adverse economic or market conditions.

Competitors of our horizontal diffusion furnaces include Centrotherm GmbH and CVD Equipment, Inc. Our principal competitors for printed circuit board assembly equipment and advanced semiconductor packaging vary by product application. The principal competitors for solder reflow systems are ITW/EAE Vitronics-Soltec, Heller, Folungwin, ERSA, Shenzhen JT Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. and Rehm. The principal competitors for advanced semiconductor packaging are ITW/EAE Vitronics-Soltec and Heller. Our in-line, controlled atmosphere furnaces compete primarily against products offered by Centrotherm and SierraTherm/Schmid Thermal Systems. We also face competition from emerging low-cost Asian manufacturers and other established European manufacturers.

Although price is a factor in buying decisions, we believe that technological leadership, process capability, throughput, safer designs, uptime, mean time-to-repair, cost of ownership and after-sale support have become increasingly important factors to purchasers of our products. As such, we believe we compete primarily on the basis of these criteria, rather than on the basis of price alone.

Semiconductor Fabrication Solutions Markets. Our CMP wafer carriers experience price competition from foreign manufacturers for which there is very little publicly available information. To maintain our competitive position, we work closely with customers to update our product line to keep pace with their requirements and provide a high level of quality and customer service. We also produce steel carriers, including insert carriers, on advanced laser-cutting tools, which reduces our costs and lead times and increases our control over quality.

Entrepix competes with other cleaning equipment providers including Screen and TEL with the OnTrak double sided scrubber. The OnTrak is normally paired with a stand-alone CMP tool to match the throughput. The OnTrak competes with other cleaning technologies in several other applications like SiC substrate manufacturing and others that require particle removal from the surface of a device wafer.

Entrepix also competes with other companies specializing in refurbishment of older legacy CMP equipment. Competitors include Axus Technology and many other companies located in geographical regions such as China, South Korea and Taiwan. Entrepix’s strategy consists of providing solutions for obsolete equipment for legacy 200mm, 300mm and smaller wafer processing equipment where support has been discontinued by the OEM. In addition, Entrepix provides support for their customers various wafer production and R&D requirements in their class 1000 clean room foundry.

The competitive landscape in the substrate process chemical industry is varied, ranging from large multinational companies to small regional or regionally-focused companies. Intersurface Dynamics competes with much larger companies, such as Entegris, Inc. and Cabot.

HUMAN CAPITAL

The Amtech Values

Amtech is focused on growth: profitable company growth and employee growth. To encourage achieving these objectives, Amtech’s leadership team developed Amtech’s core values, which are communicated to employees on a regular basis. These core values include the following:

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Safety – Employees should never be injured at work. Adherence to safety protocols underscores our commitment to disciplined operation.

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Customer Focus – We know our success depends on the success of our customers. We aim to exceed customer expectations at every interaction.

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Continuous Improvement – Our company’s dedication to continuous improvement is what enables us to adapt, evolve, and excel in our ever-changing industry.

Amtech’s Employees

Our employees are critical to our success as a leading, global manufacturer of capital equipment and related consumables used in fabricating and packaging semiconductor devices. To continue producing and delivering high-quality products and services to our customers, and to compete and succeed in the highly competitive and continually evolving markets in which we operate, it is critical that we continue to attract, retain and develop a diverse group of talented individuals at all levels of our organization.

Our management seeks to align employment levels with the needs of our business. As of September 30, 2024, we employed 328 people. We also employ individuals on a temporary full-time basis and use the services of contractors as necessary. Of our 328 total employees, 38% were engaged in manufacturing, 21% were engaged in sales and service, 9% were engaged in research, development and engineering, and 32% were engaged in other roles. Our employees were based out of the following locations:

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Tempe, Arizona corporate offices — 21

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Phoenix, Arizona manufacturing plants — 42

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Bethel, Connecticut manufacturing plant — 4

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Westford, Massachusetts manufacturing plant — 65

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania manufacturing plant — 31

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Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing plant — 3

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Shanghai, China manufacturing plant — 140

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Other Asia-Pacific sales and services offices — 13

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UK sales and services office — 9

Of the 31 people employed at our Carlisle, Pennsylvania facility, 18 were represented by the United Auto Workers Union - Local 1443. We have a three-year agreement with this union, which expires on September 30, 2025. We expect this agreement to be renewed prior to expiration. We have never experienced a work stoppage or strike, and other than employees at the Carlisle facility, no other employees are represented by a union. At select business units, we have hired certain highly specialized employees under employment contracts that specify a term of employment, pay and other benefits. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Talent Acquisition and Retention

The future growth and success of our company largely depends on our ability to attract, train and retain qualified professionals. As part of our effort to do so, we offer competitive rewards, compensation and benefits, including an employee equity award program, performance-based bonuses, health and wellness benefits, retirement benefits, flexible schedules and holiday and paid time off. We understand that competitive compensation and benefits programs are important in retaining high-performing and qualified individuals.

We know that retention of high-performing employees benefits us and our customers. We are committed to helping our employees develop in their careers and thrive within the Company. Management provides regular performance reviews to ensure our employees are receiving timely and constructive feedback, as well as rewards based on their performance. These performance reviews also assess each employee’s performance as it relates to Amtech’s core values. We believe these programs and efforts contribute to attracting and retaining a talented and driven workforce.

Turnover

In 2024, our total employee turnover was 26.2%, of which approximately 36.5% was voluntary. Approximately 7.3% of voluntary turnover were employees that retired from the workforce. The average tenure of our employees is approximately 11 years and approximately 47.3% of our employees have been employed with us for more than 10 years. In 2023, our total employee turnover was 5.4%, of which approximately 70.8% was voluntary. Approximately 4.6% of voluntary turnover were employees that retired from the workforce.

Throughout 2024, we made targeted labor reductions as a result of our shift to contract manufacturing and the longer than expected slowdown in the broader semiconductor industry.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Amtech is dedicated to building a diverse workforce, fostering a culture built on the principle of inclusion, and maintaining a workplace free from discrimination. We strongly believe that a diversity of experience, perspectives and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and better products and service for our customers. Amtech’s commitment to diversity covers our Board of Directors, our leadership team and all teams and functions across our global locations.

Health and Safety

It is our highest priority to keep our employees, customers and suppliers safe. We provide our employees with ongoing safety training to ensure safety policies and procedures are communicated and implemented in an effective and timely manner. As noted above, safety is one of our core values.

PATENTS

The following table shows our material patents and the expiration date of each patent:

To our knowledge, there are currently no pending lawsuits against us regarding infringement of any existing patents or other intellectual property rights or any material unresolved claims made by third parties that allege we are infringing the intellectual property rights of such third parties.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We file our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, and other documents (including registration statements) with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Securities Act of 1933, as applicable. Our SEC filings are available to the public on the SEC’s website atwww.sec.gov and through The Nasdaq Global Select Market, 165 Broadway, New York, New York 10006, on which our common stock is listed.

AMTECH WEBSITE

In addition to the information contained in this Report, extensive information about Amtech can be found atwww.amtechsystems.com, including information about our management team, products and services, and corporate governance practices. The corporate governance information on our website includes our Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance guidelines and the charters for each of the committees of the Board. In addition, amendments to these documents and waivers granted to directors and executive officers under the Code of Conduct, if any, will be posted in this area of the website. In addition, our filings with the SEC, as well as Section 16 filings made by any of our executive officers or directors with respect to Amtech's common stock, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after the filing is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

These details about our website and its content are only for information. The contents of our website are not, nor shall they be deemed to be, incorporated by reference in this Report. Further, our references to website URLs are intended to be inactive textual references only.