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Erica Mallett
Cookson Performance Solutions
Phone: 508-698-7216
emallett@cps.cookson.com

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John Neely

(978) 745-4878john@hawthornemedia.com

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Cookson Performance Solutions Website:
www.cooksonsolutions.com

Cookson Performance Solutions Introduces Groundbreaking e-Learning System for the Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing Industry

March 20, 2001

Foxborough, MA - Cookson Performance Solutions (CPS) has introduced a comprehensive curriculum of 29 new online courses designed to train operators involved in printed circuit board assembly. Considering that the most commonly used approach to instructing machine operators in the past has been on-the-job training, the new CPS WebWare™ system is both more efficient and more effective than the training it replaces.

"Our new CPS WebWare courses are already revolutionizing the training of new hires, machine operators, and maintenance technicians in the fast-growing electronics assembly industry," said Howard Kamens, Vice President, Training Solutions, for CPS. "Our focus is on providing manufacturing clients CPS WebWare training solutions that are innovative, bring employees up to full performance as quickly as possible and then keep them highly productive."

Cookson Performance Solutions is a business unit of Cookson Electronics, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electronics assembly machinery and materials used in the manufacturing process. "We have a strong track record in training Cookson's customers on the machines we manufacture," observed Kathleen Murray, Marketing Manager for CPS. "We offer week-long hands-on training seminars on all aspects of the programming, operation, and maintenance of each machine. The problem has been that these courses are too expensive and time consuming for machine operators and cover far more detail than they require. New e-learning technologies provide just the solution our customers need. Our new online courses provide the first training ever offered in the electronics industry that is designed specifically for operators."

Using CPS WebWare, a new machine operator can be fully trained in a matter of hours. The same is true for an experienced operator shifting to a new machine. CPS WebWare courses are grouped in three levels of increasing detail. The single course in Level 1 provides an overview of the entire Surface Mount Technology (SMT) manufacturing process -- the state-of-the-art approach to assembling printed circuit boards. Ten courses in Level 2 cover the fundamentals of each aspect of the SMT process in much greater detail. Level 3 courses provide complete information concerning the operation of ten different machines manufactured by Cookson and will be expanded to include other brands of assembly equipment.

Murray observed that, "we are selling our new CPS WebWare courses to customers who already use Cookson machinery and who have been sending their managers, engineers, and technicians to our seminars for years. But, our Level 1 and 2 courses are completely independent of the brand of machinery used and will benefit any company engaged in SMT manufacturing. And, all of the Level 1 and 2 courses are available in both English and Spanish."

"Our customers tell us that these courses are a breakthrough application because customers finally have a structured way to train machine operators-their front-line personnel," Murray concluded.

The courses use video, audio, and multimedia simulations to engage students and rigorous quizzes to insure that they have mastered the concepts and details. The Level 1 and 2 courses, the first released, received a bronze medal in the 2000 Brandon Hall of Fame awards competition for multimedia and web-based training programs.

About Cookson Performance Solutions
Cookson Performance Solutions delivers results to the electronics assembly industry by offering state-of-the-art training, comprehensive process consulting, and process development expertise. CPS is a business unit of Cookson Electronics, which is part of Cookson Group plc. Cookson Group is headquartered in London and employs 18,000 people worldwide. Its shares are included in the FTSE Mid 250 Index.

Cookson Performance Solutions may be reached by calling Erica Mallett at 508-698-7216, by e-mailing emallett@cps.cookson.com, on the Web at www.cooksonsolutions.com, or by writing to Cookson Performance Solutions at 25 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 3, Foxborough, MA 02035.