Tronics considers Asian MEMS deal
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In Dallas, Texas, Tronics has subcontracting relationship with Honeywell with its own equipment and staff in place for production and to aid the transfer of MEMS processes.
"We are also considering some other partners for manufacturing in Asia. We are considering a similar model [to the US] in Asia and there is interest in our technologies," CEO Pascal Langlois told eeNews Europe.
Langlois declined to provide names of potential partners or say when he expected a deal to be done but the goal is for such Asian manufacturing to be able to take Tronics subcontracted manufacturing up to consumer volumes.
Pascal Langlois, CEO of Tronics Microsystems AS.
Under Langlois, who joined the company in September 2013, Tronics has raised funds by going public and is expanding a fab-lite manufacturing strategy. Langlois told eeNews Europe he also wants the company to diversify from its position as predominantly a provider to European customers — and from its position as a provider of high performance inertial sensors by moving into microfluidics for medical applications, into environmental sensors and into broadly-based combo sensors.
Next: Sales by geography
In 2014 the company achieved annual sales of €11.6 million (about $13 million) and growth of 14 percent thanks to a diversification of customers initiated in 2013. Those sales broke down as 70 percent in Europe, 18 percent in Asia and 12 percent in the United States. "We are expecting to grow significantly in Europe. Prospects in America are driven by microfluidics while in Asia the opportunity is for consumer applications. We have one customer in Japan and a lot of interest in China," said Langlois. Tronics will announce 1H15 financial results in September.
Langlois said the Chinese opportunity is there despite the emergence in recent years of a number of Chinese MEMS startups. "They don’t have our M&NEMS technology. It could be seen as competitive but there is a large appetite for components and collaboration. We see it as an opportunity to provide product and technology and to enrich the ecosystem there," said Langlois.
Tronics makes inertial sensors ranging from navigation grade accelerometers and gyros to its M&NEMS process for consumer-grade combo chips with multiple degrees of freedom. The M&NEMS process is based on piezoresistive nanowires rather than pure capacitive detection.
One of the major advantages for the M&NEMS technology, said Langlois, is that is can support multiple technologies and monolithic integration. The ability to integrate accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, pressure sensors and microphones on a single piece of MEMS silicon makes a combo MEMS with up to 11 measurement degrees of freedom possible, small form factors, simpler interface circuits and lower cost of assembly.
"One single MEMS technology can enable all sensors for wearables, including healthcare features," said Langlois.
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CEO interview: Tronics’ Langlois makes moves in MEMS
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