Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: MU
NASDAQ-100 Component
S&P 500 Component
Industry Semiconductors
Founded May 22, 1978 (May 22, 1978)
Headquarters Boise, Idaho, United States.
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Mark Durcan (CEO)
Products DRAM, Flash memory, Solid state drives
Revenue Decrease US$12.4 billion (2016)
Decrease US$168 million (2016) [1]
Profit DecreaseUS$-270 million (2016)
Total assets IncreaseUS$27.54 billion (2016)
Total equity DecreaseUS$12.08 billion (2016)
Number of employees
 31,400 (September 2016)[1]
Subsidiaries Lexar Media
Website www.micron.com

Micron Technology, Inc. is an American global corporation based in Boise, Idaho which produces many forms of semiconductor devices, including dynamic random-access memory, flash memory, and solid-state drives. Its consumer products are marketed under the brands Crucial Technology and Lexar. Micron and Intel together created IM Flash Technologies, which produces NAND flash memory. Micron was named one of Thomson Reuters top 100 global innovators in 2012[2] and 2013.[3] Micron Technology is also ranked among the Top 5 Semiconductor producing companies in the world.

History

1978–1999

Micron was founded in Boise, Idaho, in 1978[4] by Ward Parkinson, Joe Parkinson, Dennis Wilson, and Doug Pitman as a semiconductor design consulting company.[5] Startup funding was provided by local Idaho businessmen Tom Nicholson, Allen Noble, Rudolph Nelson, and Ron Yanke. Later it received funding from Idaho billionaire J. R. Simplot, whose fortune was made in the potato business. In 1981, the company moved from consulting to manufacturing with the completion of its first wafer fabrication unit ("Fab 1"), producing 64K DRAM chips.

In 1994, founder Joe Parkinson retired as CEO and Steve Appleton took over as Chairman, President, and CEO.[4]

A 1996 3-way merger among ZEOS International, Micron Computer, and Micron Custom Manufacturing Services (MCMS) increased the size and scope of the company;[4] this was followed rapidly with the 1997 acquisition of NetFrame Systems, in a bid to enter the mid-range server industry.

2000–present

Micron and Intel created a joint venture in 2005, based in IM Flash Technologies in Lehi, Utah.[6] This proved so successful that the two companies formed another joint venture in 2011, IM Flash Singapore, in Singapore.[7] In 2012, Micron became sole owner of this second joint venture.[8]

The company again changed leadership in June 2007 with COO Mark Durcan becoming President.

In 2008, Micron spun off Aptina Imaging, which is currently a privately-held company. Micron retained a stake in the spinoff.[9] However, the core company suffered setbacks requiring layoffs of 15 percent of its workforce in October 2008, during which period the company also announced the purchase of Qimonda's stake in Inotera technologies for $400 million. 2009 saw this trend of layoffs and acquisitions continue with the termination of an additional 2,000 employees and the acquisition of the FLCOS microdisplay company Displaytech. With the company's increasing fortunes, Micron was able to acquire agreed to buy flash-chip maker Numonyx for issuance of $1.27 billion in stock.

On February 3, 2012, the CEO, Steve Appleton, died in a small Lancair plane crash in Boise, Idaho.[10][11][12] Mark Durcan replaced Appleton as the CEO shortly thereafter,[13] eliminating his former title of President.[14]

In the 2012-2014 period, Micron again went through an acquisition-layoff cycle, becoming the majority shareholder of Inotera Memories, purchasing Elpida Memory and Powerchip.,[15] while announcing plans to layoff approximately 3,000 workers.[16]

In 2015, Micron and Intel embarked on another joint venture, 3D XPoint non-volatile memory.[17] Micron also acquired Tidal Systems.[18]

Products

Micron makes DRAM Memory components and modules, including SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, DDR4 SDRAM, LPDRAM, RLDRAM, PSRAM, and multi-chip packages. It also makes NAND, Managed NAND and NOR flash memory, and SSDs. Lexar and Crucial are some of the most popular brands the company uses to distribute its products.

In late 2009, the company was the first to announce a solid-state drive (SSD) using a 6 Gbit/s SATA interface.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Micron Technology, Inc. 10-K report 2016". Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Top 100 Global innovators 2012". Thompson Reuters. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  3. ↑ "Top 100 Global innovators 2013". Thompson Reuters. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  4. 1 2 3 "Micron Company Milestones". Micron. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  5. ↑ Allan, Roy A. (2001). A history of the personal computer: the people and the technology. Allan Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 0-9689108-0-7. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  6. ↑ Intel, Micron to form flash-chip venture Archived February 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Intel, Micron Open Singapore NAND Flash Plant
  8. ↑ IM Flash Singapore is now Micron Archived May 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Aptina boosts image; embraces foundries // EETimes, 4/12/2011
  10. ↑ Micron says CEO Steve Appleton has died in a Boise plane crash, The Washington Post, February 3, 2012.
  11. ↑ Statement by Micron Technology Board of Directors, Micron Technology, February 3, 2012.
  12. ↑ Micron Tech CEO Dies in Plane Accident, Shara Tibken, Don Clark, The Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  14. ↑ https://www.micron.com/about/our-company/leadership/d-mark-durcan
  15. ↑ Micron and Elpida Announce Sponsor Agreement
  16. ↑ Micron may shut Israel plant by 2015
  17. ↑ Hruska, Joel (29 July 2015). "Intel, Micron reveal Xpoint, a new memory architecture that could outclass DDR4 and NAND". ExtremeTech.
  18. ↑ Ramseyer, Chris (October 2, 2015). "Micron Gains SSD Controller Technology Through Tidal Systems Aquisition[sic]". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ Ng, Jansen (2009-12-02). "Micron Announces World's First Native 6Gbps SATA Solid State Drive". DailyTech. Retrieved 2009-12-02.

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