DEFINITION OF LONG-TERM GROWTH STRATEGY BASED ON INDUSTRIES’ BEST PRACTICES (2023)
A well-established UK-based semiconductor equipment supplier had successfully managed to grow over the last five years and wanted to continue this growth also for the coming five years by expanding its focus from predominantly R&D- to a combination of R&D- and industrial-customers.
Due to its in-depth knowledge and experience in the semiconductor equipment industry, TECH-DILIGENCE was mandated to help shaping the 2030 strategy of the client, based on “industry best practices” for selected areas including Product Definition and Development Process, Business Excellence in Sales and Marketing, and Customer Support. During several weeks of intensive work with the client, a detailed analysis of the clients’ processes and organizational set-up was compared to those from the top-5 companies in the sector and improvement measures were defined.
The results were discussed at a one-day workshop with the management team of the client and the most relevant improvement projects were selected for immediate implementation.
PREPARATION OF BUSINESS PLAN FOR LARGE “BEYOND-CMOS” PILOT LINE (2023)
As part of the PERTE Chip, a 12+ B€ investment fund set up by the Spanish government to rebuild the Microelectronic Industry, a group of public and private Catalan institutions decided to define a very innovative R&D amd pilot line for so called “Beyond CMOS” technologies, including 2D-materials, integrated photonics, and neuromorphic computing, to name a few.
TECH-DILIGENCE was asked by the project leadership to help putting together the initial business plan for this 380 M€ project, with special focus on defining the business model, assessing, and quantifying the addressable markets, defining a first list of technology process and the corresponding processing equipment and quantifying costs and revenue streams.
TECH-DILIGENCE successfully finished the business plan, together with an international core team of four people, which was released and reviewed by the Spanish government, getting the approval to move into the feasibility phase.
Now, TECH-DILIGENCE continues with this project and is further detailing the business model and the list of processes and equipment, next to defining a first layout for the cleanroom.
TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY (2020)
A German-based investment company was considering the possibility of an investment in a French company. This was growth financing after the product was fully developed. The product was a special tester for specific, active devices on wafer level as well as on the assembled device.
Tech Diligence was mandated to perform a commercial due diligence at worldwide level. Due to the complexity of the process and the fact that the components were still under development, for both semiconductor manufacturers as well as for special applications, also sensor manufacturers were contacted.
The final report led to the investment being realized and we received very positive feedback from both the investment company and the target company.
OUT-OF-COURT MEDIATION FOR QUALITY ISSUE (2015)
A large US company with subsidiaries in Europe did supply defective products (sensors for end users) over an extended period. The cause of the error was – allegedly – the faulty software of a sub-supplier. Both companies were faced with massive economic problems, as the supplier would not have “survived” this damage and the sensor manufacturer had to replace many elements incurring large expenses. Both companies had an interest in a quick settlement, for which the legal process would have been too long.
Tech Diligence was commissioned by the American company to help reach an amicable solution by proper mediation. To this end, a comprehensive analysis of the causes of the error was carried out together with university institutes and the Fraunhofer Society. Afterwards, several meetings were held to first ensure that defect-free products could be delivered. After that, the damage was quantified, and an allocation was accepted by both parties.
COURT OPINION FOR PATENT DISPUTE IN UK (2011)
A large U.S. digital printing company sued a small British company for infringement of essential patents on digital printing rolls for laser printers.
Tech Diligence was commissioned by the British company to prepare an expert opinion proving that there is no patent infringement. This opinion – together with the legal advisors – was presented in court in London and led to the dismissal of the lawsuit and the British company continued to sell its products worldwide without any restrictions.