A workpiece holder and an apparatus for loading workpieces onto the holder for use in wet chemical semiconductor processing is described. The workpiece holder comprises two perimeter seal plates, electrical contact inserts and a locking plate. The perimeter seal plates provide force for both fluid sealing and electrical contact when the locking plate is in a locked position. The locking plate also functions as an electrical bus to provide current to the electrical contact inserts. The workpiece loader comprises a stage to insert or remove a workpiece from the workpiece holder. The loader also comprises vacuum chucks to position the perimeter seal plates prior to loading and to compress the perimeter seal plates during locking and unlocking.