Allegro MicroSystems Completes Closure of Willow Grove, PA Wafer Fab and Sale of Facility; Supports Flexible Manufacturing Strategy

    WORCESTER, Mass.--Jan. 15, 2003--Allegro MicroSystems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of semiconductor products, today announced the closure of the wafer fab and completion of the sale of its 250,000 square foot facility in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania for an undisclosed amount. The buyer will use the facility for purposes unrelated to the semiconductor industry. On October 1, 2001, Allegro announced that production at the Willow Grove wafer fab would transfer to Allegro's wafer fab in Worcester, MA. This decision is consistent with Allegro's strategy of increasing manufacturing flexibility in support of future growth.
    The Willow Grove wafer fab manufactured four-inch wafers using Bipolar process technology primarily for the analog market. The availability of larger wafer sizes at Allegro's Worcester, MA wafer fab and a transition to next generation process technologies made further investment in this wafer fab inconsistent with the companies' long-term technology and financial objectives.
    "To upgrade our Willow Grove facility to larger wafers and new process technologies was cost prohibitive," said Dennis Fitzgerald, President and Chief Operating Officer for Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. "Ongoing upgrades to the existing Worcester wafer fab to accommodate larger wafer sizes and new process technologies are providing our customers with cost-effective, leading edge technology products. These upgrades, combined with using external wafer fab foundries, will allow Allegro to achieve aggressive growth and financial objectives while providing the manufacturing flexibility for today's volatile marketplace."
    Key technical personnel will remain with the company and will work in the newly opened Pennsylvania Design Center in Warminster, PA.

    About Allegro

    Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. is a supplier of advanced mixed-signal power semiconductors and Hall-effect sensors targeted toward the automotive, communications, computer/office automation, consumer and industrial markets. It maintains a leadership position in the integrated magnetic sensor and integrated motor driver product segments. With over 2,000 employees, Allegro is headquartered in Worcester, MA. Further information about Allegro can be found at www.allegromicro.com.