Propelled by HP inkjet sales, ST remains top MEMS foundry

EL SEGUNDO, USA: STMicroelectronics in 2010 remained far and away the world’s largest foundry manufacturer of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors with revenue nearly five times greater than second-place finisher Texas Instruments, according to the new IHS iSuppli MEMS Competitive Analysis 2011 from information and analysis provider IHS.

An Italian-French electronics firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, STMicroelectronics posted estimated revenue of $228.6 million derived from MEMS foundry services, compared to $47.4 million for Dallas-based Texas Instruments during 2010.

The table presents the IHS iSuppli global ranking of the Top 5 companies that provide MEMS foundry services in addition to their IDM MEMS production, a business model that iSuppli refers to as “mixed model” as opposed to pure play MEMS foundries.Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.

“For the fourth year in a row, STMicroelectronics led the rankings and was the only MEMS foundry with revenue in the hundred-million-dollar range,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS.

“Inkjet wafers made for the Hewlett-Packard Co. represented the majority of STMicroelectronics’ MEMS revenue. And although HP’s inkjet revenue has been shrinking, STMicroelectronics managed to grow its foundry takings by capturing an increasing share of HP inkjet production in the last four years. STMicroelectronics also has started working with other inkjet manufacturers, such as Kodak, and has won several foundry programs in the bio MEMS space, such as insulin pumps with Debiotech of Switzerland.”

Texas Instruments, although still No. 2, has seen its MEMS foundry revenue slide steeply since 2004 after the freefall in the inkjet business of its main customer Lexmark. However, Texas Instruments recently entered into an agreement for the contract manufacturing of consumer MEMS with a Top 15 maker in that sector, which should start generating revenue for Texas Instruments in 2011.

Two other notable mixed-model foundries are Norway-based Sensonor Technologies, in third place with $38.0 million; and Sony Corp., in fourth place with $31.9 million and up a hefty 51.2 percent in revenue, thanks to the excellent performance of its primary client, Knowles Electronics, in MEMS microphones.

MEMS foundry market models
IHS distinguishes the “pure play” MEMS foundries that do not manufacture their own MEMS from the so-called “mixed model” foundries—i.e., integrated device manufacturers that offer MEMS contract manufacturing in addition to their core business.

The mixed-model group as a whole commanded a larger share of the MEMS market than the pure-play sector. The Top 10 mixed-model foundries enjoyed combined revenues in 2010 of $396.0 million, with their two top performers of STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments together responsible for 70 percent of that market. In comparison, the Top 10 pure-play companies had revenue during the same period amounting to $205.3 million, headed by principal foundry Silex Microsystems at $36.0 million.

Nonetheless, the pure-play field saw much more annual rapid growth in 2010, benefiting from a vigorous expansion rate of 48.4 percent compared to a mere 2.4 percent for mixed-model suppliers.

Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.