Months of planning and discussions has resulted in the merger of the Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics to create a new semiconductor company called Renesas Electronics.
“We have been working together since last October to set up the new company and to be ready for today,” Robert Green, president and CEO of the European business told EW.
“We know we all have a busy year ahead of us,” said Green
Green believes there is a real opportunity for the European business, which he heads up with chairman Tsutomu Miki, to play a more influential role within the global organisation.
“There is a clear plan to grow the business outside of Japan and as a result the European business can have more influence within the global company,” said Green.
“We have all the functions of a semiconductor company in Europe - design, systems engineering, software and silicon IP development as well as sales and marketing, to strengthen our voice within the organisation,” said Green.
Important European markets for the new company, where this influence is likely to be greatest, will be wireless, automotive and smart metering.
“There are world leading companies in all these areas in Europe and we have our own expertise here in Europe,” said Green.
Green points to Renesas’ strengths in analogue and mixed-signal and NEC’s digital ICs particularly for consumer applications such as digital TV and wireless infrastructure.
See: Renesas and NEC ponder 22nm options
The new company, which will be headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and has 900 staff, inherits two established microcontroller businesses.
“We will create the largest microcontroller company and with that comes a responsibility,” said Green.
“Emphasising the continuity of the product strategy and design support is our immediate task,” said Green.
With the semiconductor market facing the prospect of a strong year of growth following the downturn of 2008/9, the timing of the merger has worked out well.
“Yes, we are seeing new design activity in the market and so this is a good opportunity for the new company,” said Miki, chairman of the European business.
“Engineering activities will be accelerated,” said Miki.
He points to automotive, in particular the Autosar in-car software architecture, and smart meters as areas where the European business has a “global” strength.
“There is the real possibility of taking a greater initiative in Europe,” said Green.
See: NEC, Renesas chip merger aims for 2010 start