Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM) CEO Russell Ellwanger is in Korea on business, and it appears that he is succeeding. Tower reported another new contract with a customer in that country, its third new customer there since the appointment of Michael Song as Tower Korean Country Manager in the beginning of the year.
The new customer, TAEJIN Technology, Co., Ltd., a supplier of linear and switching regulators for various consumer and mobile applications, chose Tower to manufacture its low power, high efficiency voltage regulator integrated circuits
The financial value of the deal was not reported, but market estimates are that it is a large contract, which should yield revenue of several million dollars per year to Tower, beginning in 2011.
Tower said that according to iSuppli, the multi-billion dollar voltage regulators market is expected to grow from $5 billion in 2009 to approximately $7 billion in 2013.
TAEJIN markets power management products including linear and switching regulators, power supply controllers, and DC-DC converters. These devices are used in various consumer, computing, communication, and automotive products including xDSL, PCs, set-top boxes, LCD displays, GPS systems and other applications. TAEJIN's voltage regulator integrated circuits are integrated into products offered by many customers in Korea, Japan, and China, including LG, Sanyo, Panasonic, and JVC.
TAEJIN Technology president and CEO Choi Tae Hyouk said, "We selected Tower as our specialty foundry partner as they are known to have the best record for first time success. We have worked with other foundries, but they could not meet our requirements for performance, price, customer service, and modeling accuracy."
Tower shares fell 3.5% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) by mid-afternoon. The company's shares closed on Nasdaq yesterday at $1.20, about double their closing price July 28. Tower's market cap on Nasdaq is $192 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 31, 2009
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