[August 03, 2004] Alien Technology Starts Up Next Generation High-Volume RFID Tag Manufacturing Line MORGAN HILL, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 3, 2004 -- Alien Technology Corporation, a leading provider of reliable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag and reader products, announced today that volume production is underway on its second generation Fluidic Self-Assembly (FSA(R)) manufacturing line. The state-of-the art line, located in Alien(R)'s Morgan Hill facility, has been fully qualified. It will soon replace the first generation FSA process, which Alien has used to assemble ten million units that it has shipped over the past two years. "FSA has been recognized as the most advanced manufacturing technology for RFID in the world," said Stav Prodromou, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alien Technology. "It uses massively parallel assembly of tiny RFID integrated circuits into a thin and flexible form factor that is ideally suited for conversion into finished RFID tags. By integrating all the steps in tag production in an automated reel-to-reel manufacturing process, FSA provides far greater capacity and far lower cost than other approaches," added Dr. Prodromou. "Alien's outstanding quality system is fully implemented for the new FSA production line, consistent with our registration under ISO9000:2000," said Glen Gengel, Alien's Vice President of Manufacturing. "The second generation FSA line is capable of assembling up to 2 billion straps per year. In fact, we have already demonstrated over a million units per shift, and performance is continually improving as expected," said Mr. Gengel. The growing output of this FSA line will be increasingly important over the coming months to enable Alien and its partners to help meet the demands of the rapidly ramping RFID market, according to the company. Alien is also planning additional tag assembly and test capacity in its new Fargo facility later this year. About Alien Technology Alien Technology Corporation is a leading provider of EPC-compliant Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products. Using Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA). Alien manufactures EPC Class 1 tags in very high-volumes and low cost. The company also provides RFID readers for a variety of applications including supply chain management, logistics operations and anti-counterfeiting, to improve inventory management and reduce operating costs. Alien is an active member of EPCglobal. More information about Alien Technology Corporation can be found on the Company's website at www.alientechnology.com. Alien, Alien Technology, the Alien Technology, the Alien logo and FSA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation in the United States and other countries. Copyright (C) 2004 Alien Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]