SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) ("Kulicke & Soffa", "K&S" or the "Company") today announced that the Company appointed Chan Pin Chong as Vice President, Wedge Bonder Business Unit, effective immediately. Mr. Chong will be based at the K&S Office in Santa Ana, California, and report to the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Bruno Guilmart. Mr. Chong will succeed Matt Vorona, Vice President, Wedge Bonder Business Unit, who will be leaving in March 2014 after a long and successful career with K&S that began when the company acquired Orthodyne Electronics.

Mr. Guilmart continued, "Matt has done a tremendous job navigating our Wedge Bonder business through acquisition, moving manufacturing from California to Asia, and through difficult business conditions. I thank him for his hard work and dedication during his long leadership career with wedge bonding. I'm very pleased that he will remain with us for a transition period in order to transfer responsibilities to Chan Pin. I also welcome Chan Pin to the K&S leadership team. He's a seasoned executive that will lead the Wedge Bonding business unit to creatively look for and aggressively develop new market opportunities and strengthen our product portfolio."

Mr. Chong brings over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics industries, having held engineering and operations roles in his early career, spending the last 10 years in sales, business unit management and executive management roles. He started his career first as a Process and Test Engineer for Motorola, then Manufacturing Manager for Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX), followed by a long career at KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC), holding such diverse positions as Sr. Technical Director and General Manager for a specific business unit. His most recent accomplishments were as Vice President of Sales and General Manager for Form Factor (NASDAQ: FORM) in Singapore, and then as Global President & CEO at Everett Charles Technologies. Mr. Chong received bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Leicester, UK.

"I look forward to the challenge and am excited to join the K&S Wedge Bonding team," said Mr. Chong. "The semiconductor and hybrid markets will continue to evolve with technology requirements and challenges. I will focus on aligning our roadmap to meet our customer's requirements and grow our business by partnering with existing and emerging customers."

About Kulicke & Soffa

Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. As a pioneer in this industry, K&S has provided customers with market leading packaging solutions for decades. In recent years, K&S has expanded its product offerings through strategic acquisitions, adding wedge bonding and a broader range of expendable tools to its core ball bonding products. Combined with its extensive expertise in process technology, K&S is well positioned to help customers meet the challenges of assembling the next-generation semiconductor and LED devices. (www.kns.com)

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.
Sheila Frese
Public Relations
P: +1-949-399-2930
F: +1-949-660-0444
sfrese@kns.com
or
Joseph Elgindy
Investor Relations & Strategic Planning
P: +1-215-784-7518
F: +1-215-784-6180
jelgindy@kns.com