Manufacturer Introduction: STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS - SMSC (Microchip) Manufacturer

Standard Microsystems is the world’s leading manufacturer of semiconductor chips. The company specializes in producing semiconductor products for signal communication and data connectivity. Based in the United States, SMSC has built its reputation in the electronics industry for all the years that it has been in the business.  It still retains this reputation to date.

Before the acquisition, SMSC was an industry leader in the manufacturing of mixed-signal semiconductor solutions. The company was fully focused on developing and supplying innovative solutions for different application areas such as automotive, computing devices, industrial, and consumer electronics. They dominated these industries by producing a wide of semiconductor-based products that cover all these application areas.

History of SMSC

 Standard Microsystems Corporation was an established  USA-based company that was founded in 1971.  Started as a semiconductor chip supplier,  the company evolved to be a market leader in the field of networking technology. This explains why in 1994 the company was ranked among the largest suppliers of networking and communication products worldwide. Its products were mainly used for supporting connectivity between devices in different computer networks.

 As we have mentioned, the company was founded in 1971 by Paul Richman, an engineer from MIT. He teamed up with three other engineers who were specialists in computer technology and they established Standard Microsystems Corporation. Initially, the company was under the management of a successful venture capitalist who also doubled up as its chairman. Paul Richman headed its engineering band technological unit.

 At the time of incorporation, the company’s headquarters was in Hauppauge, New York while its manufacturing unit was based in Silicon Valley which was the epicenter of the microchip technology at that time. The location was quite strategic, especially when it came to the marketing and distribution of semiconductor chips.

 In 1973, Standard Microsystems Corporation focused its efforts on manufacturing metal oxide semiconductor large-scale integrated  (MOS/LSI) and very large-scale integrated (MOS/VLSI) circuits.  These two types of chips were mainly used the data transmission and telecommunication applications. By focusing on these two products, the company was able to start licensing several patents that it had received in the MOS technology industry.

 Major players in the electronics industry such as  Hitachi, Fujitsu, and IBM started licensing Standard Microsystems Corporation. This was a major move as it greatly improved the company’s portfolio in high technology patents.

Tuning around the company’s fortunes

 While it was on a trajectory to be the world’s leading supplier and manufacturer of semiconductor chips, Standard Microsystems Corporation started suffering major setbacks quite early. The first one was in 1973 when a Japanese firm decided to cancel its order for semiconductor chips. The events that followed this cancellation had devastating effects on the company’s financials and also business reputation. For example, its shares on the OTC market plummeted by a great margin. 

Standard Microsystems Corporation initiated recovery efforts almost immediately. One of the moves entailed focusing its production on specific I products and targeting valuable markets. The company appointed an aggressive CEO who had a reputation for turning around profits. Within a short period, Standard Microsystems Corporation was on its way back to profitability.

 COPLAMOS technology in semiconductor manufacturing

As a company that was on a recovery path, Standard Microsystems Corporation was experimenting with all the available tools and systems that had the potential to deliver the desirable results.  COPLAMOS  technology was one of these tools.

 Created by Paul Richman, who was still at the top position of the company,  COPLAMOS technology involved the use of negative channel  MOS chips which were way faster than the positive channel chips. This chip manufacturing technology was licensed and even used by other major IC manufacturers in the industry.

 The impact of this technology was felt almost immediately. It improved the production rates of the semiconductor products such that manufacturers were able to produce more within a short period. As more manufacturers were embracing this technology, Standard Microsystems Corporation shifted its focus to the smaller markets to reach out to startups that were just getting into the electronics industry.

Research and development

 One of the key reasons behind the speedy growth of  Standard Microsystems is heavy investment in the research and development areas. This was mainly spearheaded by Richman who thought that it was important for the company to commit more resources in designing innovative solutions. He was promoted to be the new president and chief executive officer of SMSC. This marked a new era where the brand would pump more funds towards the research and development areas of the business.

Total commitment to research and development was one of the factors that propelled SMSC to the next level. The company was able to come up with new and innovative products for different application areas. In 1992, SMSC released a total of 19 new products.

Mergers and acquisitions

In addition to creating its products from scratch, the steady growth of Standard Microsystems is credited to the mergers and acquisitions. The company has been increasingly investing in acquiring other companies. With this move, it has not only been able to increase its product portfolio but also has managed to expand its royalties.

Since it was founded, Standard Microsystems has been acquiring many other companies in the semiconductor and electronics field. For example, in 1983, Standard Microsystems signed a licensing contract with both National Semiconductor Corporation and Nippon Electrical Corporation. These deals allowed the company to cross-license its patents on semiconductor products.

Standard Microsystems also entered into different manufacturing agreements with other companies.  This was quite a pivotal move that was aimed at expanding its production capacity. SMSC signed manufacturing agreements with two Japanese companies Sanyo Electric and Sharp, deals that aimed to flex the company’s muscles in the Asian market.

 Marketing and distribution

By the year 1994, Standard Microsystems was ranked among the world’s largest suppliers of computing and networking products. Some of its products include network interface cards, LAN switches, Ethernet, Token rings, and FDDI.

The company has also invested in the distribution of its products worldwide. It works with reputable electronic component suppliers such as ICRFQ to ensure that their products reach the target customers. Talk to us in case you want any products from Standard Microsystems.