Sensor Technology I Swindon Silicon Systems - Interview


No longer hiding their light under a bushel


Neil Tyler talks to Geoff Hall, the managing director of Swindon Silicon Systems, a company that is going from strength to strength but whose success remains understated


F


ounded 35 years ago Swindon Silicon Systems was set up by four electronics specialists, Andy Brittain, Alan


Richardson, Graham Fletcher and Ron Towns. Essentially a spin off from Plessey Semiconductors, the company was originally set up as a design consultancy that specialised in the design of silicon chips.


Plessey had been receiving a growing number of requests from customers about designing silicon chips, but at the time it didn’t fit with the company’s business strategy so spotting a gap in the market the original founders of Swindon set the company up to address the needs of what was a fast growing market. Today the company specialises in ASIC design and volume supply for analogue and mixed analogue/digital applications. For example its TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) ASICs are now used exclusively in the Schrader brand, who are the global market leaders in this field. Formed in 1978 the company has established a reputation as a specialist in the design and supply of high performance integrated circuits and was one of the first “fabless” semiconductor companies to set up.


Geoff Hall, the company’s current Managing Director, or as he describes himself “employee number two” joined the company back in 1979. “Throughout the company’s first five years, or so, we focused on what we intended to be, a design consultancy. But we soon realised that if we wanted to grow the business we’d need to start supplying product,“ Hall explains. “As a design service company it’s great when the economy is buoyant and companies are looking to design new product, but when recession hits development stops.” The early 1980s saw a deep recession which Swindon survived but underlined their need to adopt a different business model.


12 October 2013


“While we survived that recession - just - we knew that we had to start supplying product and find companies to supply that product to. In all honesty we went after as many markets as we could, at least those that could pay us. Early successes came in the military and industrial markets. We were focused on low volume but high prices.”


For small companies their very survival


breeds greater confidence among their customer base.


“As the company grew we moved


premises in the early 1980s and invested in production and test facilities. We saw a major shift in growth in the mid 1990s when we designed an ASIC for a tyre pressure monitoring system, it was the first commercial ASIC design for this type of system and was for a company supplying Schrader International, a leading global automotive and industrial system component supplier.” In 2000 the Ford-Firestone controversy blew up which saw questions raised over the high incidences of tyre failure being recorded on various models supplied by Ford and fitted with Firestone tyres. The failures involved tread separation and lead to the deaths of several hundred people and resulted in both companies facing legal action.


The Ford-Firestone tyre problems also


resulted in the passing of legislation that made it compulsory for tyres in all US cars to have tyre pressure monitoring systems fitted.


“That piece of legislation meant that


there was a massive active market for Schrader and for us as a single source supplier,” Hall explains. “While we were doing well in the 1990s, through to 2005 we were still vulnerable as a business. We rode out a number of recessions and it wasn’t an easy time. However, since that US legislation came into effect sales have jumped. While we are headquartered here in Swindon, over 80 per cent of our business is derived from international companies across Europe, the US and the Far East. We currently employ 88 people and have seen turnover top £21m this year.” As the market took off for Swindon it became apparent to Schrader that it would be dependent on a small, privately owned company as one of its key suppliers. “We were seen as a ‘risk’ by the company,” Hall explains. “While we were privately owned despite supplying a technically excellent product we were perceived as a commercial risk. As a result Schrader offered to buy us.”


Components in Electronics


The decision as to whether they lost their independence was a tough one for the company. “We were faced with Schrader either acquiring us or developing a second source and there was a lot of deliberation at the time. If we had decided to go our own way we could have lost half of our product sales and would have seen the company downsized. To be part of a large organisation gave us financial security and took away the commercial risks that companies saw when dealing with a small, independent business.


“It was very emotional selling the business,“ Hall recalls. “It was our company and we were very protective of the workforce. The culture we’d created at Swindon was very important to us but there was no way to protect it once the acquisition went through.


Swindon takes what it describes as a ‘partnership approach’ to business, providing customers with a complete integrated service from design concept through to production supply. “Our design team has a broad-base of expertise in a number of areas including Mixed Mode, RF and high-speed design areas. “We use a “fabless” business model that involves approved partner companies who are able to fabricate the silicon and package the devices. By utilising a wide variety of partner foundries, we are able to use the most advanced semiconductor processes available for maximum performance at minimal cost.” Swindon has certainly benefited from the TPMS legislation in the US and with similar regulations planned around the world is well placed to pick up a serious amount of new business. Schrader has something like 50 per cent of the market at present. Swindon’s sales to Schrader are accounted for as ‘internal’ sales, external sales are equally as important.


While the automotive space accounts for some 75 per cent of total sales at present the company see it as important to grow sales in other markets such as industrial and medical. “From a technical perspective these markets are challenging and help us to refine and extend our engineering skills,” Hall says.


“The market for sensors is huge and Geoff Hall


“The mitigating factors were that it was a strategic acquisition, that we remained a company in our own right and as long as we did what we said ‘on the tin‘ then we were able to operate much as we had always done. The big change for us was the forecasting and financial reporting that was required - that process changed enormously. However, it meant that we had to put in place the financial structures that will support future growth.” There have been significant changes in the structure of the holding company that ultimately owns Swindon since Schrader’s acquisition, but “that original acquisition was an important strategic move for the company,” according to Hall, “it ensured that we remained a quality supplier that was able to plan and invest for the future.”


we’re currently in talks with companies across a host of industries.” For example, Swindon Silicon recently signed a technology partnership agreement with the silver-zinc battery manufacturer ZPower. Under the agreement it will develop and manufacture a miniature power management ASIC that will allow hearing aid manufacturers to use ZPower battery technology without any modifications to their existing DSP systems. “A Swindon ASIC will make their high


energy rechargeable micro battery technology available to all hearing aid manufacturers allowing them to develop new product designs using rechargeable rather than disposable batteries.” I first met Swindon Silicon at this year’s


Southern Electronics back in February and was amazed at their capabilities and what the company actually does, that is an ability to offer customers a total in-house turnkey ASIC capability covering every aspect of the mixed signal design process.


As Hall says “Its important that people know we’re out there.” And I for one, concur. ■


www.cieonline.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48