CARSEM RECEIVES ISO/TS 16949:2002 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CERTIFICATION

City of Industry, CA-July 9, 2003-Carsem, a leading provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry, announced today that both factories located in Ipoh, Malaysia achieved the ISO/TS (Technical Specification) 16949:2002 Certification from TUV Rheinland/Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany, a third party registrar.

The ISO/TS 16949:2002 is a Quality Management System specific to the automotive industry, which includes all the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System standards. The quality systems are currently endorsed by BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault SA and Volkswagen AG, and are supported by various automotive trade associations such as AIAG (USA), SMMT (UK) and VDA (Germany). ISO/TS 16949, coupled with customer-specific requirements, define the quality system requirements for use in the automotive supply chain and provides for a global registration scheme.

By becoming certified, suppliers can gain a competitive advantage and benefit from the improved processes and continuous improvement that is the foundation of the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems.

The advantages of becoming certified include, improved process quality, reduction in second-party audits, common language to improve the understanding of quality requirements, and a reduction in multiple third-party registrations.

David Comley, Carsem's Group Managing Director stated, "We are among the first in our industry to achieve this certification and it further enhances our impressive list of other quality certifications that include SAC Level- 1, ISO-9001, ISO-14001 and QS-9000. We are a leader in the industry and this certification provides yet another competitive edge for both Carsem and our customers."

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About Carsem
Carsem is a leading provider of turnkey packaging and test services to the semiconductor industry, and offers one of the widest ranges of package & test portfolios in the world. To meet the growing demands of the telecommunications and wireless markets for smaller, faster, thermally-efficient devices, Carsem's portfolio includes several advanced technologies, such as the Micro Leadframe Package (MLP), Small Scale Ball Grid Array (SSBGA), Flip Chip On Leadframe (FCOL), and a SiP (System-in-Package) capability. Carsem also offers a full range of turnkey test services for RF, mixed-signal, linear, digital and power devices. Our factories maintain world-class quality standards having achieved SAC Level 1, ISO-9001, ISO-14001, QS-9000, TS16949 certifications, and are supported with a global network of sales and engineering support offices. Carsem is a member of the Hong Leong Group with factories located in Ipoh, Malaysia, Suzhou, China and sales offices across the USA, plus the UK. Carsem, Inc. sales headquarters is located at 269 Mt. Hermon Road, Suite 104, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, phone (831) 438-6861, fax (831) 438-6863, web site: www.carsem.com.