Michael Allison, former worldwide vice president of business operations at KLA-Tencor Corp., was named sales and service director, semiconductor and solar, at Edwards, a UK-based maker of vacuum pumps and related systems for semiconductor, flat panel display, LED and solar cell manufacturing for industrial, scientific, process and R&D applications. Allison has extensive experience in the semiconductor capital equipment industry covering the US, Europe and Asia. Edwards' US headquarters is in Wilmington, Mass.