MILPITAS, Calif., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- KLA-Tencor Corporation has been recognized as one of 19 companies receiving Intel Corporation's Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award for their performance in 2011. KLA-Tencor Corporation is recognized for their significant contributions providing Intel with inspection and metrology capital equipment and services, deemed essential to Intel's success.

"We are honored to receive this prestigious award from Intel in recognition of KLA-Tencor's commitment to excellent customer service, value and constant quality improvement," said Bobby Bell, executive vice president of the global customer organization for KLA-Tencor. "Our relationship with Intel stems beyond traditional terms. We have a partnership where collaboration, leading-edge innovation and world class execution is held in the highest regard. Our company looks forward to strengthening its partnership with Intel and working closely in support of the extraordinary products they are known for."

"KLA-Tencor has transformed their approach to customer orientation by listening to specific factory and technology needs and bringing new and creative solutions to the table. We look forward to continuing to work together with KLA-Tencor to solve our future technology and manufacturing challenges," said Janice Golda, lithography capital equipment development director, Intel Corporation.

The PQS award is part of Intel's Supplier Continuous Quality Improvement (SCQI) program that encourages suppliers to strive for excellence and continuous improvement. To qualify for PQS status, suppliers must score 80 percent on a report card that assesses performance and ability to meet cost, quality, availability, technology, environmental, social and governance goals. Suppliers must also achieve 80 percent or greater on a challenging improvement plan and demonstrate solid quality and business systems. Additional information about the SCQI program is available at http://intel.com/go/quality.

A celebration to honor PQS award winners was held in Santa Clara. In addition, there was an announcement on Intel's website at http://intel.com/.

About KLA-Tencor Corporation
KLA-Tencor Corporation, a leading provider of process control and yield management solutions, partners with customers around the world to develop state-of-the-art inspection and metrology technologies. These technologies serve the semiconductor, data storage, LED, photovoltaic, and other related nanoelectronics industries. With a portfolio of industry-standard products and a team of world-class engineers and scientists, the company has created superior solutions for its customers for more than 35 years. Headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., KLA-Tencor has dedicated customer operations and service centers around the world. Additional information may be found at www.kla-tencor.com.

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SOURCE KLA-Tencor Corporation