Technology >> CEO Interviews >> May 10, 2004
RAYMON F. THOMPSON is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, President
and Chairman of the Board of Semitool, Inc. The company maintains
headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Kalispell, Montana, with
sales and service offices worldwide. Mr. Thompson, who holds a degree in
mechanical engineering, started the company in southern California and
moved it to Montana in 1979. He designed, patented and introduced the
first on-axis rinser dryer for the semiconductor industry in 1979.
Semitool has grown from 10 employees in 1979 to a current employment
figure of over 900 worldwide. Mr. Thompson was named Small Businessman
of the Year in 1983 by the Montana State Chamber of Commerce, Montana
Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992 and SBA Entrepreneurial Success Award
winner for Montana in 1998. Profile
Mr. Thompson: Semitool is a toolmaker for the semiconductor and
electronic industry, as the name would imply. I founded the company and
brought it, as a startup
