| Type | Public (SIX: AMS) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Founded | 1981, Joint Venture of American Microsystems Inc (AMI) and VOEST Alpine AG |
| Headquarters | Unterpremstätten, Styria, Austria |
| Key people | John A. Heugle (CEO), Michael Wachsler-Markowitsch, (CFO) |
| Products |
Semiconductors, High Performance Analog ICs (Power Management, Mobile Entertainment, Audio circuits, Sensor & Sensor Interfaces, Interfaces, RF Products, Data Converters) |
| Employees | more than 1,000 (2008) |
| Website | www.austriamicrosystems.com |
austriamicrosystems AG, frequently still known as AMS (Austria Mikro Systeme), is a multinational semiconductor manufacturer. The headquarters are located in Unterpremstätten (Styria, Austria). The main fields of business are the development and production of high performance analog Integrated Circuitry (ICs) such as standard analog products as well as customer specific solutions (ASICs).
austriamicrosystems AG is engaged in the areas of power management, sensor and sensor interfaces and hand held consumer electronics. With their products they serve the markets of communication & consumer electronics, industry & medical electronics and automotive electronics, rounded of by Full Service Foundry activities.[1]
Contents |
voestalpine AG decides to expand its product and services range and chooses the Semiconductor industry. Due to voestalpine looking for a joint venture partner the first cooperation with American Micro Systems (AMI) was formed.[2]
In 1981 this joint venture resulted in the American Micro Systems Inc. Austria GmbH. AMI owned 51% and voestalpine AG 49%. The château Premstätten in Unterpremstätten (Styria, Austria) was chosen as the main location. This was followed by the construction of the first Austrian Semiconductor factory. The set up of a sales branch for ROMs and standard products was also tackled during this period.[3]
In 1983 the Austrian chancellor Fred Sinowatz officially opened the 100mm Wafer factory which started its production with 300 employees.[4]
1987 was the year when voestalpine AG took over full ownership. In the same year the name was changed from AMI-A to AMS (Austria Mikro Systeme International GmbH). Further more there were new Sales branches established in California and Germany.[4]
In 1990 AMS became one of the 25 fastest growing businesses in Europe (Source: Expertonics, Brussels).
AMS was chosen to be the “top Fab of 1992” (Source: Semiconductor International USA).
In 1993 AMS was the first Semiconductor Company in Europe to go public, at the Vienna stock exchange.[5]
AMS decides to conquer new markets and that’s how the first sales office in Asia came about in 1995. In this year the company was also accredited according to the ISO 14001:1996 and EMAS (the European Eco Management and Audit Scheme)
NASAs “Deep Space 2” mission in 1998 took of with 2 chips developed from AMS and the aircraft manufacturer Boeing. These chips were designed to manage the power supply of the whole space probe. In the same year the company was accredited according to the American and German Automotive industry, QS 9000 and VDA 6.1 respectively.[6]
2000 AMS set the foundation for the new 200mm Wafer factory. Due to the majority share holder Permira, AMS leaves the Vienna stock exchange the same year. This resulted in a further name change to austriamicrosystems AG.[7]
The new 200mm production line starts its trial run. At the same time a license agreement has been reached between austriamicrosystems AG and TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.), the largest global IC Foundry. After the successful trial run the new 200mm Wafer factory goes ahead with the mass production in 2002. Silicon Strategies listed austriamicrosystems as the only European company under the top ten 2003 Foundries worldwide.[8]
2004 was the year austriamicrosystems AG found its way back to the stock exchange. Since the 17th of May that year Austriamicrosystems Ag is listed on the Swiss Stock exchange, short SIX, in Zürich.[9]
In 2005 the standard products as well as the capacity of the 200mm Wafer factory were expanded to compensate for the shut down of the old 100mm factory which played a main part in the success of austriamicrosystems AG.
In 2006, the year of the 25th anniversary, a new test centre in the Philippines and a new design centre in India were built. The 200mm Wafer factory was also expanded further.
In 2007 austriamicrosystems AG stepped into new business segments in the form of a partnership with the micro motor manufacturer New Scale Technologies. In the same year the new cafeteria & conference centre was built buy the architect DI Tinchon.
The financial and the resulting economic crisis didn’t pass austriamicrosystems AG without leaving their mark. As many other companies they had to reduce work hours for parts of their workforce. However this didn’t last long as the orders started to grow again and most of those who had reduced hours could return to full hours. But even during these economically difficult times austriamicrosystems AG managed to join the UN global compact to reduce emissions and plans in the mid term to produce CO2-free.
In 1164 the foundation for the château Premstätten was laid by the knights Hermann and Gumprecht of Premstätten. 200 years later the 600 year reign of the counts of Saurau began.[10]
The appearance of the château today is mainly thanks to the counts of Saurau. The arcaded atrium has been built in the second half of the 17th century. It received today’s still maintained rococo look more than a hundred years later.
From 1848 onwards the owner ship of the château changed more frequently. First the noble family Goëss held the ownership but was soon followed by the noble family of Normann.[11]
In 1931 the château was bought by the order of Comboni, a catholic missionary order. The order was dispossessed of the château by the NS regime, which used it as a secret radio communication base. After the war, it was not restored to the order; instead it was used by American and Russian troops as a base. Only after the occupation period did the order get the château back, but it was in a miserable state.[12]
The following years were marked by numerous renovation works. This had a huge financial impact on the order. In 1981 the order of Comboni finally decided to sell the château to the voestalpine AG under the condition that they would keep the chapel intact in its form and purpose.
After extensive renovation to adapt the château to office purposes it became the headquarters of austriamicrosystems AG.
austriamicrosystems AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2004. 95% of the shares are free float and 5% are held by the management.[15]
In the segment of Consumer & Communications austriamicrosystems serves the markets of mobile communication and mobile as well as fixed entertainment electronics. Their main focus rests on chip solutions for the power and lighting management. These chips can be found in MP3 players, mobile phones, LCD TVs and xenon or LED camera flashes.
In the area of medical and industrial electronics austriamicrosystems provides sensors and sensor interfaces. Their products are known to measure to smallest signals under extreme conditions such as extreme temperature fluctuations, humidity and vibration.
In the field of automotive electronics austriamicrosystems AG supplies Semiconductor solutions which are used in intelligent vehicle access, security and comfort systems. They also supply sensors, sensor interfaces and high speed bus systems. austriamicrosystems´ Foundry is aimed at fabless companies, chip designers and integrated semiconductor providers which don’t have their own Wafer factory. Hereby the focus lies on analog and mixed signal ICs which often need complex and specialised processes.[16]
austriamicrosytems Ag spends around a quarter of its revenue on research and development. In 2008 they spent € 25.6 million on R&D. In their business segments this is of the up most importance as they would otherwise fall behind their competition.[17]
Austriamicrosystems is certified with the following quality standards, ISO/TS 16949:2002, ISO/TS 13485:2003, ISO 9001:2000, QS9000, VDA6.1 and the Q1 certification of Ford. They also fulfil the environmental standards of ISO 14001:1996 and EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)[18]