Former ASML director: ‘They said: Wim, stop wasting money’

His handshake is a little less forceful than usual, he apologizes. “During my last vacation I contracted a bacterial infection. The doctor said I shouldn’t have waited another week.” Fortunately, Wim Troost (96) is blessed with an iron constitution. And an iron memory.

Troost, born in the decade that Philips launched the first radio sets, knows how to set up a tech giant. In the early eighties he played a decisive role in the start of chip machine manufacturer ASML.

ASML’s success has many fathers. Wim Troost was the one who took care of a technology that really bothered Philips: the lithography machine. It was a find of the Natlab, the laboratory where hundreds of Philips scientists worked on advanced technology.

Natlab is dear to him, says Wim Troost: “I would like to write another book about the fantastic inventions that have been made there.”

Philips designed its own innovative production tools. One of the Natlab inventions was a lithography machine that incrementally projected a pattern onto a wafer – a round plate of silicon on which chips are made. Philips had found a way to do that more accurately and faster than competitors.

Philips itself did not need enough chips to develop a complete lithography chip machine for that alone. In early 1978, Philips attempted to spin off the technology as a standalone industry that would also supply devices to outside customers. Wim Troost was the only one to raise his hand: he was willing to take on that challenge. At the time, he was deputy director at the Science & Industry division (products for industrial applications). Other division heads saw no point in the lithography technique. “‘Wim, stop wasting money,’ they said to me.”

little demand

There appeared to be little demand for a lithography system from Philips – the first system still worked with hydraulic motors, with a high risk of oil leakage. A variant with electric drive was under development but not yet ready. Wim Troost went looking for buyers worldwide, but could not sell enough lithography machines to make the branch profitable.

Still, Troost persevered. That was his strong point throughout his career, he says at the kitchen table of his farm in Nuenen, Brabant: perseverance.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs contributed to the development of Philips’ lithography technique and threatened to discontinue a hefty subsidy if Philips did not proceed with the development. At Economic Affairs they saw a solution: couldn’t Philips work with ASM International, the company of the successful Dutch entrepreneur Arthur del Prado? After all, ASM International was also involved in chip machines.

“In 1983 we were invited by Economic Affairs to a meeting in The Hague where Del Prado was proclaimed entrepreneur of the year,” Troost recalls. “Arthur del Prado was a very charming man, but not suited for a lithography machine company. I didn’t like a deal with him.” Philips declined politely, though Economic Affairs and Del Prado insisted.

Lithography systems are the most expensive equipment in the factory, determining the design of the other production processes. Troost: “Del Prado was a good salesman, but he didn’t have the right connections for the world of lithography. That trade takes place at the level of the management, not the buyers. Moreover, ASM International lacked knowledge in the field of lithography.”

Troost went looking for other joint venture partners – in vain. The American manufacturer of lithography systems Perkin-Elmer came to Eindhoven with a delegation of ten people and was deeply impressed. “Perkin-Elmer wanted to work with Philips, but the Philips staff did not respond,” says Troost. “The Philips leadership had no vision at all.” He can still get excited about it.

Still a deal

As an emergency measure, Wim Troost, together with his then Philips boss George de Kruijff, knocked on Arthur del Prado’s door in 1983. De Kruijff had come to realize that a deal with ASM International was the only way to further develop the Philips technology. In a short conversation, the joint venture between Philips and ASM International was settled – both companies invested 7.5 million guilders – and that is how ASML: Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography was born.

The first director of ASML was Gjalt Smit, also from Philips. Wim Troost stayed on as supervisory director.

Early ASML struggled with poorly motivated employees and a lack of money, Troost recalls: „I have great admiration for Smit. When he took office, he encountered an impossible situation and was able to convince his own organization and the world that ASML would bring the most advanced lithography technique to the market.”

But the deal with Arthur del Prado didn’t end well, as Troost had predicted.

“ASM International seemed to be in a good place because the company had just gone public in the United States,” says Troost. But in 1988 ASM International did not have enough capital for a next investment step and Del Prado withdrew from the partnership. ASML survived with difficulty, thanks to substantial government subsidies and a – one-off – generous shower from the then Philips CEO Jan Timmer. In 1992 he gave ASML financial space at the right time with a loan of 30 million guilders.

Troost, who started at Philips in 1951, retired in 1985. After that he remained closely involved with ASML. In 1987, ASML’s then CEO Gjalt Smit resigned and Wim Troost was asked to step in as general manager. In 1990 he finally retired – but he never let go completely. He still often attends general shareholders’ meetings, both at ASML and at Philips.

He’s got rid of most of the stuff from the past. But not the gilded wafer he received when he left in 1990, engraved with the words ‘with thanksgiving to Ir. Wim Troost’ – the ASM Lithography staff’.

And his head is full of fond memories. Such as on Friday December 12, 1986, the day that Frits Philips, the former chairman of the board of Philips and figurehead of the group, would come to visit the brand new ASML head office in Veldhoven. A futuristic white building in Silicon Valley-esque architecture, meant to impress American customers. It was quite an improvement compared to the temporary building in Eindhoven where Troost had started ASML in 1984 with fifty former Philips employees.

“I met Frits Philips at a shareholders’ meeting. ‘Perhaps you find it interesting to visit ASML?’ I asked him. And he said yes.”

The visit did not go quite as expected, says Wim Troost. “Frits Philips insisted on driving himself and turned off at the first striking white building near Veldhoven that he encountered. That building turned out to belong to office furniture manufacturer Ahrend, who was very honored by the spontaneous visit of the famous industrialist and offered him a tour.”

It all went well: after a few worried phone calls, Troost was able to trace Frits Philips. “Mr. Philips visited ASML later that day and was still very interested. He said to Gjalt Smit and me: Men, hang in there.”

Also read: Photonics: birth of a new Dutch tech giant

A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 30 July 2022