Company and Industry Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Company and Industry Information

COMPANY AND INDUSTRY INFORMATION

Nature of Operations

Ultratech, Inc. (referred to as “Ultratech” and “we”) develops, manufactures and markets photolithography and laser thermal processing equipment for manufacturers of semiconductor and nanotechnology components located throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

We supply step-and-repeat photolithography systems based on one-to-one imaging technology. Within the integrated circuit industry, we target the market for advanced packaging applications. Within the nanotechnology industry, our target markets include thin film head magnetic devices, optical networking devices, laser diodes and high-brightness light emitting diodes (“HBLEDs”). Our laser thermal processing equipment is targeted at advanced annealing applications within the semiconductor industry.

Major Customers

In 2011, Intel Corporation (“Intel”), Samsung Corporation (“Samsung”) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (“TSMC”) accounted for 24%, 18%, and 12% of our net sales, respectively. In 2010, Samsung, TSMC and Intel accounted for 19%, 11% and 11% of our net sales, respectively. In 2009, TSMC, Intel and StatsChipPac Ltd. (“StatsChipPac”) accounted for 22%, 19%, and 14% respectively.

At December 31, 2011, Intel, Global Foundaries, TSMC, International Business Machines ("IBM") and Huali Corporation ("Huali") accounted for 17%, 17%, 13%, 12%, and 11% of our accounts receivable, respectively. At December 31, 2010, Samsung, StatsChipPac and TSMC accounted for 30%, 22% and 19% of our accounts receivable, respectively.

Business Segments

In evaluating our business, we give consideration to the Chief Executive Officer’s review of financial information and the organizational structure of our management. Based on this review, we concluded that, at the present time, resources are allocated and other financial decisions are made based on consolidated financial information. Accordingly, we have determined that we operate in one business segment, which is the manufacture and distribution of capital equipment to manufacturers of integrated circuits and nanotechnology components.

Enterprise-Wide Disclosures

Our products are manufactured in the United States and Singapore, and are sold worldwide. We market our products internationally through domestic and foreign-based sales and service offices. The following table presents enterprise-wide sales to external customers and long-lived assets by geographic region:

In thousands	2011		2010		2009
Net sales:
United States	$	84,467	$	29,076	$	27,034
International:
Taiwan	51,098		44,645		30,827
Korea	13,930		22,366		1,426
Europe	20,452		20,645		3,255
Rest of the world	29,984		15,175		6,514
Japan	8,661		4,606		11,801
Singapore	3,741		4,090		14,956
subtotal	127,866		111,527		68,779
Total	$	212,333	$	140,603	$	95,813
Long-lived assets:
United States	$	12,475	$	12,078	$	10,226
Singapore	5,142		5,213		—
Rest of the world	421		268		357
Total	$	18,038	$	17,559	$	10,583

The rest of the world is comprised of sales to customers and long-lived assets in countries that are individually insignificant.

With the exception of Japan, our operations in foreign countries are not currently subject to significant currency exchange rate fluctuations, principally because sales contracts for our systems are generally denominated in U.S. dollars. In Japan, we sell our products in both U.S. dollars and Japanese yen. However, we attempt to mitigate our currency exchange rate exposure through the use of currency forward contracts. (See “Derivative Instruments and Hedging” in Note 4.)