BNR reported on October 23, 2026, that it had recovered a videotape dated 1991 and was making its contents public for the first time. The recording is tied to ASML’s effort to persuade IBM to order its PAS 5500 chipmaking machine, though the connection comes from a retrospective account by former ASML technical executive Martin van den Brink.
Why ASML filmed the PAS 5500 for IBM
A detailed account of BNR’s discovery says an IBM delegation’s planned visit to ASML in Veldhoven was canceled in January 1991 because of the Gulf War and U.S. travel restrictions. ASML filmed a presentation instead. The footage reportedly shows engineers assembling the PAS 5500 and explaining how it differed from competing machines.
BNR journalists Maxim van Mil and Daniël Mol reportedly found the tape in ASML’s Veldhoven archive while researching the podcast Ons ASML. The story appears in the podcast’s third episode, following two years of historical research.
Van den Brink connected the tape to IBM’s order
After the visit was canceled, Van den Brink reportedly took the recording to the United States to present it to IBM. He later said the presentation gave ASML the final push to win an order. The account says IBM placed a large order and later became one of ASML’s most important customers.
The stakes were high: Philips, then ASML’s parent company, was reportedly considering ending its financing while ASML had invested heavily in developing the PAS 5500. The reported sequence links the presentation to IBM’s order, but Van den Brink’s recollection is the account connecting the two.
