Who said the electronics industry in South Africa was in the doldrums? Obviously not – when another major international components manufacturer is about to establish a local presence to boost African sales.
The company in question is ROHM and it launched its local presence during July with its sole distributor being Avnet Kopp.
Avnet Kopp was chosen by ROHM based on a number of factors including the fact that Avnet Kopp is one of the leading broad-line distributors, but input was also obtained from industry itself and very positive feedback was obtained on the distributor's performance. Avnet Kopp will purchase directly from the ROHM European operation which has a 2000 m2 warehouse accommodating sales of some 18 million Euros per month.
Present at the press launch from ROHM were Bryan Cullis (MD of ROHM Europe), Graham Bridger (European distribution manager) and ROHM's local representative, Tempe Technologies. The appointment of Tempe Technologies as the local ROHM representative emphasises the commitment of ROHM to South Africa. Tempe's staff will conduct visits with Avnet Kopp sales people and will be the direct sales and technical contact for the local distributor.
ROHM was founded in Japan in 1954, initially as Toyo Electronics, a major focus initially being on passives, including resistors (and hence the Ohm in the company's name and its initial trademark of R.ohm). The name change to ROHM. came in 1981 and the company was listed in the main sector of the Osaka Stock Exchange in 1986. Today, it is one of the world's leading manufacturers of semiconductors and passive components with a turnover in 2004 of some $3,1 bn (sales peaked in 2001 at almost $3,4 bn before the downturn in the electronics industry worldwide).
It is still owner-managed and independent, even though it has more than 16 800 employees and has a presence in more than 60 countries. The Head Office remains in Japan where it also has nine production facilities, but over the last few years it has expanded manufacturing into the rest of Asia with another nine plants located in countries such as China, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. Besides its production capability, ROHM has seven Technology and Design Centres, these being located in Japan as well as countries as far away as the USA and France.
In terms of component sales there has been a major shift away from the original resistors and the current breakdown by category is ICs (45%), discrete semiconductors (39%), display modules (9%) and passives a mere 7%. Major markets for the company's products include computers, audio, telecommunication, industrial, consumer products, automotive and home appliances. Major growth is seen in most of these markets, particularly automotive and in addition to being certified to ISO 9000:2000 the company holds the automotive industry QS 9000 certification. In addition to its quality management certifications ROHM has been the recipient of numerous quality awards from its customers - recent ones including AT&T, Daimler-Chrysler and Delphi Delco.
ROHM ranks highly in terms of global sales compared to its often better-known competitors being 'number one' in terms of sales of small signal diodes (25% market share), and small signal transistors (18% market share). Competitors include Toshiba, Philips and Sanyo. These results are based on an independent market survey.
In terms of its history, ROHM has always led the pack in terms of resistors, but it began development on semiconductors in 1962, marketed zener diodes in 1980 and began development of MOS ICs in 1986. Today, the company produces a full range of diodes (schottky, rectifier, power, zener, high-frequency and switching), all types of transistors (MOSFET, bipolar, digital etc), while its range of electro-optical products includes LEDS, laser diodes, print heads and sensors). Other active components produced are ICs, standard products including voltage regulators, EEPROMS and standard logic). Application specific ICs are also available for such applications as DC/DC converters, LED drivers and devices for multimedia applications. Passive products include numerous types of resistors, multilayer ceramic capacitors and tantalum capacitors. In addition to this, the company still remains No. 1 in the world in terms of chip resistors, a technology and product range it pioneered.
By the way, in terms of components, ROHM has closely followed the forthcoming European legislation and started investigating lead-free soldering techniques in 1998. By 2002 the development programme was completed and the company can offer lead-free technologies for its passives, semiconductors and ICs. Both leaded and lead-free components are now available although ROHM is actively assisting its customers to change to the latter. The company stresses that its products are equivalent under normal operating conditions irrespective of which technology is used.
One of the competitive advantages and strengths of ROHM is its ability to continuously develop equivalent devices in smaller packages, often with increased functionality incorporated on the SMD. For the electronic system manufacturer this translates into higher density opportunities on the PCB and less component placement, both of which contribute to lower costs.
Avnet Kopp had been working with ROHM's technical team for over a month before the launch so they are now fully up and running in regard to the extensive new line. Initial target markets in this country will include the automotive, security, metering and control unit sectors. In terms of printer heads and other such devices, point of sale applications will be investigated while ROHM LEDs are expected to be widely used in car rear light clusters, dashboard displays, traffic lights and other applications with internal vehicle lighting being a strong possibility.
For more information contact Noel Honey, Avnet Kopp, 011 809 6100, [email protected]
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