We recently caught up with J.C. Lee at UTAC America Inc., in Pleasanton, Calif., U.S. headquarters of United Test and Assembly Center, Singapore. J.C. is the man with the plan-and it's an ambitious one, to be sure. President and CEO of UTAC, which began in March 1998, Lee was a key figure in founding the very successful STATS in Singapore.
Design Centers The UTAC roadmap for expansion includes worldwide IC package design centers. The first has already been built inside UTAC America's Pleasanton home. It was implemented by Dr. Anthony Sun, a new hire for UTAC and a veteran of the semiconductor industry. If, by some chance, you haven't yet heard of UTAC, you will. One of Lee's first moves to bolster the company's North American presence was to bring industry vet Jack Snyder in as president of UTAC America. In our meeting with Lee and Snyder, the high-energy Snyder reminded us that he was able to light fires under the business model at his two most recent companies, ASE and, earlier, Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd. He moved ASE and SPIL, second and third in revenue, respectively, into a more marketing-oriented philosophy. Snyder also enthused that at UTAC, he's found a home and plans no further moves. According to Lee, though, Snyder won't need to light any fires here. UTAC will grow by some 80 percent this year, and is ready to embark on an aggressive marketing plan to make UTAC a household name.
Going Public Within a year, Lee told me, he plans to take UTAC public on the Singapore Stock Exchange. (He did the same with STATS.) Later, he will look at moving the stock onto the Nasdaq for trading in ADRs. UTAC is also in the enviable position of having a lot of cash, some $30 million, from several major investors. Additionally, the majority of the company's employees are shareholders. The company's assembly and test facility boasts some 800 employees. Singapore, much like Hong Kong, is a labor-limited island. The government allows 50 percent of a company's workforce to be imported. Currently, some 20 percent of the workers are from mainland China while another 30 percent are from Lee's homeland, Malaysia, across the Singapore border. Speaking of China, UTAC-like its many competitors-is eyeing that country with relish. However, unlike Amkor, which has built its own China-based factory, Lee feels an acquisition or merger with a Chinese company is the way to go. Lee presented no timetable for an M&A, but left the impression that something may already be in the works.
Like several others moving into China, the big attraction is not "cheap labor," Lee reported, since the labor involved in assembly these days is on the order of only 10 percent of the package's cost. A more compelling reason is that China presents an enormous consumer market, particularly in telecom and datacom. It's a market that no company on a fast track can afford to ignore. Lee also noted that UTAC was the first Asian-based company to acquire Teradyne's mixed-signal, high-end test system, the Tiger. UTAC, in fact, now has two Tigers in Singapore, and is acquiring Agilent 93Ks. In addition, UTAC boasts Teradyne Catalysts with RF, LTX Fusions with Bluetooth capability and Credence Quartets among its installed base of about 100 ATE systems. Current UTAC customers include Broadcom, Infineon, Medtronic and Nanya-Taiwan's largest memory producer. Can Lee pull off another success like STATS? The smart money says he can.
Book Notes Typically, when a company commissions a book about itself, the reader can expect a good deal of self-praise and not much else. This tome, 50 Years of Innovation: Kulicke & Soffa by Jeffrey L. Rodengen, published by Write Stuff Books [write stuffbooks.com] does contain a fair amount of that, but it's also an entertaining history of a company that grew from a handshake between Al "Buddy" Soffa and Fred Kulicke to become the leader in supplying assembly equipment to the semiconductor industry. In addition to being a well-written, tightly-woven history of the company, 50 Years is a compilation of rare black- and-white and color photos from the company's archives. People and Machines The author, also responsible for some two dozen other company histories, has extensively researched K & S and divides his narrative between people and the machines they produce. If you've been in and/or around the IC assembly business for more than a handful of years, you'll recognize many of the names and much of the equipment featured in the book. And if you like industry nostalgia, this is the perfect addition to your library. Order from Amazon.com or the publisher.
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