First, the bad news. SEMI's announcement of a 0.64 book-to-bill ratio for March prompted association president Stan Myers to quip at the opening-day press conference: "We're bottom fishing now." He believes the index could slip to its historical low before righting itself, with the European tool market unlikely to turn the corner before Q4 2001. As if Euro-giant Infineon's latest results weren't grim enough, TSMC's abysmal quarterly returns provided a postshow kick in the teeth to many European suppliers who have built their revenue bases on a healthy stream of orders from the Taiwanese foundries.

Things got even dicier as the semiconductor dimension seeped into the realm of international relations when a story in the April 24 Wall Street Journal reported the ASML chairman's involvement with a Dutch company that was busted in the early 1990s for selling restricted military gear (night-vision goggles) to the Iraqis. President Bush may have decided on whether to approve the ASML-SVG deal by the time you read this--if his handlers can contain the outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease spread by his public comments during the show week about U.S. policy on defending Taiwan from mainland Chinese attacks. After dealing with the withering stench of bad news, welcome whiffs of decidedly more pleasant springtime fragrances could be found in the exhibit halls and conference rooms.

Several European equipment, materials, and subsystems companies told me of recent successes. Kurt Lackenbucher, senior vice president of SEZ, said the Austrian-based process tool manufacturer's backlog is still strong, with few postponements or cancellations. The company's sales doubled in the last quarter, and he noted SEZ's long-term objective of achieving "critical mass" and reaching the $500-million annual revenue mark in a few years, in order to have the capability to make and deliver large orders to global customers. SOITEC, the French silicon-on-insulator wafer manufacturer, has all five lines going in its Bernin facility, according to Andrew Wittkower, president of the company's U.S. unit. He added that they've actually shipped and sold 300-mm SOI wafers, and expansion plans are already afoot to complete a new, dedicated 200-/300-mm facility by mid-2002.

Thomas Moran, head of up-and-coming toolmaker DMS Dynamic Micro Systems, told me that the company's new plant in Radolfzell, Germany, will be on-line by July. The facility will feature 1100 m² of clean manufacturing space, with minienvironments used for final cleaning. With 60% of its revenues coming from the U.S. market, Munich-based SIMS and TXRF metrology tool manufacturer Atomika Instruments has set its sights on building share in the Asian markets, said CEO Wolfgang Berneike. Pointing to three focus areas--300 mm, ultrashallow junction/shallow implant, and silicon germanium--the executive underscored his company's willingness "to be creative with customers in terms of financing" during these times of tighter budgets and decreased liquidity.

Sure, the news from Europe and the rest of the semiconductor map has been gloomy of late, but there is business out there, albeit in the limited "technology buy" area where most chip companies have kept their focus on core strategic objectives such as 300 mm and low-k dielectric/copper processing. Opportunities abound for those positioned to take advantage of the good times when they inevitably return in a year or two. You really can smell the roses, though the fertilizer may mask the scent.