Leading Provider of Enterprise Software for Quality Manufacturing Sees Acceleration in Solar, High Tech Industries, Strong Life Sciences Showing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 29, 2009) – Camstar Systems, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise software that Advances Product Quality for the Medical Device, BioPharma, Solar, Semiconductor and Electronics industries, today announced that revenue and profit were up for the third straight quarter as of the three-month period ending September 30, 2009 (the third quarter of its 2009 fiscal year).

Camstar reported strong license revenue growth, with 85% of license revenue from new customers. Solar manufacturers comprised a significant portion of that revenue, as that industry ramps up new production facilities with rigorous quality requirements. Camstar has the largest Solar manufacturers in the world as its customers – adding Q-Cells and Canadian Solar.

Camstar also reported significant growth in its APAC and European operations, as High Tech starts to rebound. Medical Device and Biotechnology companies are also showing renewed commitment to investment in quality systems, especially as looming health reform promises to drive efficiency and quality requirements. Roche Diagnostics extended its deployment of Camstar Manufacturing™ by adding Camstar’s Weigh and Dispense module for their reagent manufacturing operations.

“We are pleased with this very positive trend over three quarters now,” said Scott Toney, President and CEO of Camstar. “We are seeing increasing investment not only across Life Sciences, but also a strong uptake in the Solar industry. Our Camstar Quality™ offering is proving to be a game changer, as we see many of our engagements being strategic, enterprise-wide investments that include our entire platform – manufacturing execution, quality management and manufacturing intelligence.”

“The acquisition of Technology Resources Group, announced earlier this week, puts us in a strong position to continue our rapid revenue growth in Solar, Semiconductor and Electronics in the APAC region,” continued Mr. Toney. “Our continued healthy financial performance supports not only our increased R&D investment over the last few years, but these kinds of strategic investments we continue to make as a business.”

Camstar hosted its 2009 Customer Conference in Q3, a unique virtual conference for its customers in North America which proved to be the most attended event in the company’s history. Speakers included Boston Scientific, MiaSolé, Roche Diagnostics and SanDisk. Some of the results reported by this group include:

• 66% reduction in quality incidents
• Rapid volume ramp without increase in number or severity of quality issues
• Elimination of four critical types of nonconformances
• Improved process understanding with an end-to-end platform for batch and discrete operations
• Rapid four-week first deployment
• Increased efficiency in global rollout through use of Camstar Extended Services and Global Partners.

“Camstar’s customers have always been actively engaged, and they again shared energetically at our customer event,” said Robert Rudder, Sr. VP of Global Sales and Marketing for Camstar. “It’s rewarding to see the results of the combined Camstar and customer commitment to the success of each project.”

About Camstar Systems, Inc.
Camstar is a leading innovator of software solutions that advance product quality in the manufacturing industry, enabling its customers to deliver the highest quality products on time, the first time, every time. The Camstar Enterprise Platform advances product quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to planning to supply to manufacturing to customer product experience – all in a closed-loop learning process that allows future products to be designed better and manufacturing processes to be leaner and more efficient.

Camstar is the largest in its market, including solutions for manufacturing execution, process planning, enterprise quality management, and manufacturing intelligence. For over 25 years, Camstar has served hundreds of satisfied customers worldwide, including Abbott, AMD, Amkor, Arcelor, Beijing SE Potevio Mobile Communications, BIOTRONIK, Boston Scientific, Canadian Solar, CIBA Vision, Emcore, Hitachi, IBM, Kodak, Life Technologies, Luvata, MiaSole, Noven Pharmaceutical, NXP, Pacific Biosciences, Q-Cells, Roche, SanDisk, Xilinx, Zeiss, and ZOLL.

For more information, visit www.camstar.com

Media Contacts:
Dana Saylors
Camstar Systems, Inc.
dsaylors@camstar.com
(704) 227-6673

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Leading Manufacturing and Quality Software Provider Teams with Asia’s Top High Tech Systems Integrator, Expanding Service and Support in Asia Pacific Region

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 27, 2009) – Camstar Systems, Inc., the leading provider of manufacturing and quality software solutions for the Life Sciences, Solar and High Tech industries, today announced that it has acquired Technology Resources Group, Asia's leading Systems Integrator in the Semiconductor, Solar and Electronics manufacturing industries. Headquartered in Singapore with offices in China and Malaysia, Technology Resources Group offers expertise in manufacturing execution equipment automation, manufacturing applications development and program management for enterprise solution deployments.

Camstar’s acquisition of Technology Resources Group strengthens its leadership position in the Semiconductor, Solar and Electronics markets by expanding its services and support team in the Asia Pacific region. The move is expected to accelerate the growth of Camstar’s comprehensive Manufacturing and Quality Platform in the region, where multinational, Chinese and Southeast Asian manufacturers alike focus on driving sustained growth while delivering to the quality standards that are expected by the global marketplace.

“Technology Resources Group is a longstanding and trusted partner, and their unwavering commitment to customer service and success mirrors our own,” said Scott Toney, Camstar President and CEO. “This acquisition is a key part of Camstar’s strategy for dominating the manufacturing execution and quality management markets in Asia, which continues to grow as the production destination for global manufacturers. Also, we will be well positioned to serve the Medical Device and Biotech industries as they expand manufacturing operations into Asia, ensuring product quality which is so critical to the Life Science sector.”

“Technology Resources Group has significant expertise and domain knowledge that will allow us to extend our industry-leading solutions for Solar, Semiconductor and Electronics,” said Robert Rudder, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Camstar. “Our combined services and support teams will further enhance our ability to expand our current Systems Integrator and Reseller partner network in China, which is critical to Camstar achieving our growth targets in the local China market.”

“We are delighted and excited to join Camstar and lead their growth in the Asia region,” said Kong Eng Teck, Technology Resource Group’s founder and CEO, who will assume the role of Managing Director, Camstar Asia.  “Our mutual vision for the region as well as our combined commitment to customers should allow us to quickly gain market share in our industries and help facilitate the technical development of additional partners in the region. The positive synergies between the two organizations make this union not only a win for our companies, but more importantly a significant win for our customers in Asia. ”

“Camstar’s multiyear strategy for global expansion, as required to meet the expectations of our global customers, is on track,” continued Scott Toney “Our prudent management of the business has allowed us to invest heavily in R&D over the last two and a half years while maintaining the strong financial position to make this strategic investment. This acquisition will serve as a foundation to support the rapid growth we expect as the economy improves, led by the economic recovery of Asia.” 

Technology Resources Group is a premiere systems integrator strategically focused on supplying advanced technology products and services to the semiconductor, solar and electronics industries. Founded in 2003 by ex-TRW management, TR Group has its headquarters in Singapore with offices in China and Malaysia. Technology Resource Group’s reputed team of domain-experts and technology consultants insure the rapid and efficient implementation of Manufacturing Execution, Equipment Automation and Advanced Planning/Scheduling systems throughout the region.

Recognized by AMR Research as one of the global systems integrators [Service Providers in Manufacturing Operations, November 2006], TR Group had been singled out as having established capabilities to serve the High Tech and Electronics Industries. TR Group’s clients are among the list of top fortune 500 companies, including large multinational corporations AMD, Canadian Solar, Cypress and SanDisk. For more information, visit www.techresgroup.com

About Camstar Systems, Inc.

Camstar is a leading innovator of software solutions that advance product quality in the manufacturing industry, enabling its customers to deliver the highest quality products on time, the first time, every time. The Camstar Enterprise Platform advances product quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to planning to supply to manufacturing to customer product experience – all in a closed-loop learning process that allows future products to be designed better and manufacturing processes to be leaner and more efficient.

Camstar is the largest in its market, including solutions for manufacturing execution, process planning, enterprise quality management, and manufacturing intelligence. For over 25 years, Camstar has served hundreds of satisfied customers worldwide, including Abbott, AMD, Amkor, Arcelor, Beijing SE Potevio Mobile Communications, BIOTRONIK, Boston Scientific, Canadian Solar, CIBA Vision, Emcore, Hitachi, IBM, Kodak, Life Technologies, Luvata, MiaSole, Noven Pharmaceutical, NXP, Pacific Biosciences, Q-Cells, Roche, SanDisk, Xilinx, Zeiss, and ZOLL.

For more information, visit www.camstar.com

Media Contacts:
Dana Saylors
Camstar Systems, Inc.
dsaylors@camstar.com
(704) 227-6673

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Largest Global Solar Cell Manufacturer Selects Camstar’s SolarSuite™ to Lower Cost per Watt and Drive Quality Output CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 20, 2009) – Camstar Systems, Inc. announced today that Q-Cells SE (QCE; ISIN DE0005558662), the world’s largest solar cell manufacturer, has selected Camstar’s SolarSuite™, configured for the Solar industry on the Camstar Enterprise Platform, to drive down cost per watt through improved process quality and cell efficiency. Q-Cells will deploy the solution in two new production lines in Bitterfeld-Thalheim, Germany, and in its new factory in Malaysia where production will exceed 300MW (peak) by the end of 2010. Q-Cells selected SolarSuite over competing options for its strong “out-of-the-box” functionality that is designed specifically for and widely used by Camstar’s global customers in the Solar and Semiconductor industries. In addition, in Q-Cells’ environment of rapid process improvement and frequent tool upgrades, the unique flexibility of Camstar’s platform enables rapid adaptation, global control and change enforcement – all critical to support Q-Cells’ growth and quality goals. “We are very pleased to be a strategic partner for Q-Cells as they create the most modern, fully automated solar cell production lines in the world,” said Robert Rudder, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Camstar. “We have made significant investment in our enterprise platform as a seamless foundation for manufacturing execution, quality management and manufacturing intelligence. That technology is delivering the ability not only to collect large volumes of data from automated tools, but to quickly analyze and immediately act upon that data for process improvement and increased equipment efficiency – driving real, measurable quality improvements faster." Learn more about Camstar’s SolarSuite in a live Webcast on November 5, 2009. 

About Q-Cells Founded in 1999, Q-Cells SE is today one of the world's biggest manufacturers of solar cells. In 2008 the company, which currently employs around 2,400 staff, produced mono- and multicrystalline solar cells with expected total power of 570 Megawatt peak (MWp) and supplied them to solar module producers around the world. More than 250 scientists and engineers at Q-Cells are working on further developing the technology in order to attain the company's objective of rapidly and permanently reducing the cost of photovoltaic and making the technology affordable and competitive. As well as core business activities, since mid-2008 several Q-Cells SE subsidiaries have been producing photovoltaic modules on the basis of various thin-film technologies. Q-Cells SE is building a production plant in Malaysia, has branches in Hong Kong, China and Japan, is quoted on the Frankfurt stock exchange (QCE; WKN 555866) and is listed in the German technology index, TecDAX. For more information, visit http://www.q-cells.com. About Camstar Systems, Inc. Camstar is a leading innovator of software solutions that advance product quality in the manufacturing industry, enabling its customers to deliver the highest quality products on time, the first time, every time. The Camstar Enterprise Platform advances product quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to planning to supply to manufacturing to customer product experience – all in a closed-loop learning process that allows future products to be designed better and manufacturing processes to be leaner and more efficient. Camstar is the largest in its market, including solutions for manufacturing execution, process planning, enterprise quality management, and manufacturing intelligence. For over 20 years, Camstar has served hundreds of satisfied customers worldwide, including Abbott, AMD, Amkor, Arcelor, Beijing SE Potevio Mobile Communications, BIOTRONIK, Boston Scientific, Canadian Solar, CIBA Vision, Emcore, Hitachi, IBM, Kodak, Life Technologies, Luvata, MiaSole, Noven Pharmaceutical, NXP, Pacific Biosciences, Q-Cells, Roche, SanDisk, Xilinx, Zeiss, and ZOLL.                                                      ### Media Contact: Dana Saylors Camstar Systems, Inc. dsaylors@camstar.com (704) 227-6673

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October 27, 2009
1 – 2pm EDT
 

With accelerating innovation comes more rapid change into manufacturing, increasing variability and putting added pressure on operations to maintain high quality levels. Join us to see why leading global manufacturers are embracing Camstar Manufacturing to drive quality throughout the manufacturing process to consistently build high quality products through the systematic enforcement of procedures and best practices, resulting in lower Cost of Quality.

In this webinar you will see a demonstration of the role that Camstar Manufacturing plays within the Camstar Enterprise Platform to help manufacturers advance product quality:

• Prevent quality issues through control and enforcement
• Man, Method, Machine, Material, Measure
• Full traceability to support root cause analysis within Camstar Quality
• Full electronic infrastructure that improves productivity
• Accelerate continuous improvement to drive down the Cost of Quality
• Deliver real-time feedback of product performance for effective process and technology improvement

 Leading Manufacturers that have chosen Camstar Manufacturing for advancing product quality have realized such results as:

• Reduced Quality Incidents by 66%
• ZERO material mix-ups
• Improved first pass yields 13-17%
• Eliminated 4 types of critical NCRs
• Eliminated 54% of CAPAs
• ZERO field actions
• Eliminated documentation errors

Who should attend: Manufacturing, Quality, Operations, IT professionals involved in Life Sciences, High Tech, Solar and related manufacturing industries who would like to understand more about how to drive quality throughout the manufacturing process and to consistently build high quality products.

 Register Now

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Recurring CAPAs? Find Root Cause. Enforce Actions. Prevent Issues for Good.

November 4, 2009
1 – 2pm EDT

Most organizations have some kind of Corrective and Preventive Action system with the ultimate goal of improving product quality and increasing customer satisfaction. However, in a market of accelerated innovation and global enterprises, manufacturing is facing added complexity and the associated variability. Quality issues and recalls are escalating, forcing many quality organizations to operate in a reactive, firefighting mode.

In this session, we will describe the next generation CAPA system, designed to support the requirements of highly innovative, quality sensitive and growing manufacturing enterprises. You will learn about the key capabilities that will enable your organization to start moving from a reactive to a proactive environment. You will learn how to:

1. Provide users across the organization a single system to capture all quality pertinent incidents in real-time.
2. Implement a risk-based approach to systematically analyze the incidents for CAPA or Continuous improvement via a Corrective Action Request process.
3. Provide a collaborative and structured but flexible CAPA process that easily adapts to your industry needs.
4. Systematically enforce product or process changes based on accurate root cause analysis.
5. Keep a pulse on the effectivity of the change with real-time and continuous production data.

REGISTER NOW

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October 13 Webcast to Include Demonstration of Camstar’s SolarSuite^TM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 12, 2009) – Camstar Systems, Inc. today announced that it will host a new webcast for PV Manufacturers entitled “Demonstrating Camstar's SolarSuite™, the Manufacturing Platform of Choice for Rapid Growth in the Solar Industry”. The webcast will be held October 13, 2009 at 11:00 am EDST.

Attendees will see a demonstration of how Camstar's Enterprise Platform is helping Solar manufacturers:

• Reduce variability in a constantly changing environment
• Accelerate continuous improvement to drive down the Cost per Watt
• Detect issues early and rapidly determine root cause
• Deliver real-time feedback of product performance for effective process and technology improvement
• Enforce best known methods (BKMs)
• Increase overall equipment uptime and utilization
• Streamline operations with standards-based integration with cell controllers.

Who should attend: PV Professionals in Manufacturing, Quality, Operations and IT. There is no charge to attend this webcast, but pre-registration is required. To learn more and register, visit: http://www.camstar.info/oct13-solar.

About Camstar Systems, Inc.

Camstar is a leading innovator of manufacturing software solutions that advance product quality, enabling its customers to deliver the highest quality products on time, the first time, every time.  The Camstar Enterprise Platform advances product quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to planning to supply to manufacturing to customer product experience – all in a closed-loop learning process that allows future products to be designed better and manufacturing processes to be leaner and more efficient.

Camstar is the largest in its market, providing enterprise solutions for manufacturing execution systems, process planning, quality management, and manufacturing intelligence.    For over 25 years, Camstar has served hundreds of satisfied customers worldwide, including Boston Scientific, Kodak, Carl Zeiss, Life Technologies, Beijing SE Potevio Mobile Communications, ZOLL, CIBA Vision, AMD, BIOTRONIK, Hitachi, IBM and Eagle Test. 

 ###
Media Contacts: Dana Saylors, Camstar Systems, Inc.
dsaylors@camstsar.com, (704) 227-6673

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Leading Global Manufacturer Expands Camstar Platform’s Manufacturing Execution with Quality Management

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 7, 2009) – Camstar, the leading provider of Enterprise Platform solutions to Advance Product Quality, today announced that the latest deployment of its Quality Management solution was completed in 12 weeks from start to finish, returning unprecedented time-to-value relative to competitive solutions in the industry. The deployment occurred at one of Camstar’s global manufacturing customers, which expanded its Camstar Manufacturing™ (Manufacturing Execution System) solution through the addition of Camstar Quality™, creating a closed-loop learning environment for continuous improvement.

Camstar Quality replaces the manufacturer’s current mix of paper-based and semi-automated quality systems at their primary factory. The new platform provides a single, global system to manage all of the factory’s quality incidents including quality deviation notices and their corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs).  It enables rapid identification, containment, risk assessment, and corrective and preventive action methods to minimize the scope, impact and number of product quality issues.

“Ours is a growing and innovative company, and this puts pressure on operations to increase output without increasing the number of quality incidents,” said the manufacturer’s CIO. “We were pleased that in such a short time, Camstar’s Platform replaces paper-based systems, seamlessly integrates Manufacturing and Quality, and enables us to quickly solve quality issues when they arise with more effective root-cause analysis and corrective measures.”

“Camstar Quality’s exceptional usability, configurability and intuitive modeling enable rapid deployment and accelerate time to value,” said Reda Bensaid, Managing Director of Camstar Quality. “The solution is quickly yielding results for our customers, and Camstar will continue its intense focus on exceeding customer expectations for advancing product quality in the High Tech, Solar and Life Sciences industries.”

About Camstar Systems, Inc.
Camstar is a leading innovator of manufacturing software solutions that advance product quality, enabling its customers to deliver the highest quality products on time, the first time, every time. The Camstar Enterprise Platform advances product quality throughout the product lifecycle, from design to planning to supply to manufacturing to customer product experience – all in a closed-loop learning process that allows future products to be designed better and manufacturing processes to be leaner and more efficient.

Camstar is the largest in its market, providing enterprise solutions for manufacturing execution systems, process planning, quality management, and manufacturing intelligence.    For over 25 years, Camstar has served hundreds of satisfied customers worldwide, including Boston Scientific, Kodak, Carl Zeiss, Life Technologies, Beijing SE Potevio Mobile Communications, ZOLL, CIBA Vision, AMD, BIOTRONIK, Hitachi, IBM and Eagle Test.

To register for a demonstration of Camstar’s next-generation CAPA solution, please visit www.camstar.info/capasolution.

###
Media Contacts: Dana Saylors, Camstar Systems, Inc.
dsaylors@camstar.com, (704) 227-6673

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Recurring CAPAs? Find Root Cause. Enforce Actions. Prevent Issues for Good.

October 8, 2009
1 – 2pm EDT

Most organizations have some kind of Corrective and Preventive Action system with the ultimate goal of improving product quality and increasing customer satisfaction. However, in a market of accelerated innovation and global enterprises, manufacturing is facing added complexity and the associated variability. Quality issues and recalls are escalating, forcing many quality organizations to operate in a reactive, firefighting mode.

In this session, we will describe the next generation CAPA system, designed to support the requirements of highly innovative, quality sensitive and growing manufacturing enterprises. You will learn about the key capabilities that will enable your organization to start moving from a reactive to a proactive environment. You will learn how to:

1. Provide users across the organization a single system to capture all quality pertinent incidents in real-time.
2. Implement a risk-based approach to systematically analyze the incidents for CAPA or Continuous improvement via a Corrective Action Request process.
3. Provide a collaborative and structured but flexible CAPA process that easily adapts to your industry needs.
4. Systematically enforce product or process changes based on accurate root cause analysis.
5. Keep a pulse on the effectivity of the change with real-time and continuous production data.

REGISTER NOW

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November 5, 2009
11am – 12pm EDT

Join industry experts who will show you why leading solar manufacturers are embracing Camstar's SolarSuite™ to speed innovation and increase production volume while delivering consistent top quality from every production line. These manufacturers strive to reach – or exceed – grid parity, and they are poised for market leadership and nearly unlimited growth.

In this webinar you will see a demonstration of how Camstar's Enterprise Platform helps Solar manufacturers:

• Reduce variability in a constantly changing environment
• Accelerate continuous improvement to drive down the Cost per Watt
• Detect issues early and rapidly determine root cause
• Deliver real-time feedback of product performance for effective process and technology improvement
• Enforce best known methods (BKMs)
• Increase overall equipment uptime and utilization
• Streamline operations with standards-based integration with cell controllers.

You will see the results from leading Solar manufacturers that have chosen Camstar for advancing product quality:

• Increased Solar Cell Efficiency by 38%
• Reduced Cost Per Watt by 22%
• Dramatically Improved Equipment Uptime and Utilization.

REGISTER NOW
 

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November 12, 2009
1 – 2pm EDT

Camstar Manufacturing provides unprecedented manufacturing execution capabilities for both process and discrete (as well as hybrid!) manufacturers. Camstar’s Weigh and Dispense module Advances Product Quality for process manufacturing. It intuitively “walks” an operator through step-by-step procedures for process-oriented manufacturing, including weighing and dispensing activities. Along the way, it ensures that:

• The right materials are used per the latest revision of the recipe and that the materials have not expired
• The right equipment is used and calibrated
• Only properly trained and certified operators perform the work
• All required data is captured and within specification.

The end result is a FDA Title 21 CFR Part 11 compliant electronic batch record!

In this webinar you will see a demonstration of how Camstar’s Weigh and Dispense capabilities helps process oriented manufacturers:

• Define and manage Master Recipes in accordance with the ISA-88 standard
• Weigh and dispense materials
• Enforce GMPs
• Integrate with weigh scales
• Track and transfer materials
• Enforce recipe specifications and instructions
• Create electronic batch records.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Manufacturing, Quality, Operations, Engineering and IT professionals involved in process or hybrid manufacturing, in particular those who are familiar with Camstar Manufacturing and would like to learn about its Weigh and Dispense capabilities.

REGISTER NOW
 

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