Establishing a U.S. presence is part of the TRONIC'S strategy to work alongside its customers from the design stage onward. The North American MEMS market has seen steady growth in 2004, with products moving towards production across a broader number of applications, from industrial instrumentation to biomedical equipment. MEMS developers, now focusing on more practical and simpler devices than in years past, are seeking component manufacturers with a strong commercial production record, combined with the expertise to adapt new designs for volume manufacture.

"In 2004 we witnessed more announcements than ever before by end-use customers about the integration of MEMS into their products," said Marlene Bourne, senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based market research firm. "Gyroscopes and bioMEMS applications are poised for growth, which are part of TRONIC'S target market of custom components. Establishing a presence in the U.S. is clearly a solid strategy for the company."

"We have identified some key U.S. customers needs for whom TRONIC'S has a compelling solution for medium volume target production," said Peter Pfluger, CEO of TRONIC'S Microsystems, S.A. "Ariel's strong technical and business knowledge of the industry will bring a significant added value to match those needs to TRONIC'S services, and provide U.S. customers a closer relationship."

Ariel Cao is also President of San Francisco-based Cabrillo Technology International, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in marketing and business development for emerging technologies including semiconductors, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. He brings over 22 years of experience in marketing and management. Prior to establishing Cabrillo, he was general manager and director of business development for PHS MEMS' U.S. operations. He has also served in executive and technical management capacities at Memscap, Mentor Graphics, Sun Microsystems and EXAR.

TRONIC'S Microsystems Company Information

TRONIC'S Microsystems develops and manufactures custom MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) and microsystems for high-end applications in low to medium unit volume. The company has gained industry recognition for its experience and expertise in industrializing and producing high performance, high value-add custom MEMS products based on specialized process flows. TRONIC'S is the industry leader for the production of custom MEMS on SOI.

Additional information is available on the Internet at www.tronics-mst.com

Contacts


TRONIC'S Microsystems
Ariel Cao, 415-296-3856
ariel.cao@tronics-mst.com
or
Obidicut Partners
David Smith, 503-490-4467
david@obidicut.net