A nice example of niche marketing

Relationship Macom US and Hi-Tech RF Maarssen is a model for FHI culture

The phenomenon of principal/manufacturer with a local distributor is typical of the technology industries. This was already the case in 1956, when Het Instrument, the legal predecessor of FHI, was founded. A lot has changed and the dynamics are only increasing, but the phenomenon still exists. The American semiconductor manufacturer Macom and Hi-Tech Electronic Components bv from Maarssen have been connected since 1981. In that relationship, other people are now at the controls, a new generation but not strangers within the FHI community. A wonderful opportunity to discuss together how this works in 2017, the relationship between principal and a distributor, in a niche market. On the Macom side is Niels Kramer the famous new man. After a long period at Philips Semiconductors and NXP, FHI got to know him as 'boss' of the technology lab of Philips Innovation Services and especially as a board member of MinacNed, the trade organization for micronanotechnology participating in FHI. Niels left Philips and therefore also MinacNed in April 2016 to work for Macom as a senior director in the Netherlands. His task is to further develop Macom's international portfolio in the field of RF ICs for high-end applications in telecom, radar, test and measurement, and medical. Hi-Tech Electronc Components dga Olaf Biezeman is also no stranger. What is new is that since the management buyout of 2016, after twenty years as an employee, Olaf now runs the company as owner. Just some history. Niels knows his classics. “If you talk about RF, radio frequency, you quickly end up at Macom. That started in the 1950s with HF and later MIMIC semiconductors, MIcrowave Monolithic Integrated Circuits.” Dutch history dates back to 1981, Olaf knows. “Anton Peters (member of FHI since 1991, ed.) then started a 'Macom Field Office' in the Netherlands. Eight years later, Anton broke away from Macom and founded Hi-Tech, with the right to represent Macom and also sell other RF products. As a sales manager, I also started selling test and measurement simulation software for the RF world from 2000 onwards. The most recent development is that we became 'master reseller' for Maury Microwave as of July 2016. This means that we will support all sales of their products in Europe with sales management and technical support. Then you are talking about calibration, measurement and simulation. All these activities complement each other in the one 'niche' domain, RF and microwave.” How does that work if you have to get very specific components into the design at a product development company? If that succeeds and series production takes place in a country or on another continent, then you will miss that turnover, right? Did you do all that work, that technical support for the sale of a few components for the prototype? “Yes, the 'design win' problem is complex,” Niels Kramer acknowledges. “We can make agreements about this with the distributor, but sometimes a customer wants to keep control themselves. Or production is suddenly transferred elsewhere.” Olaf has had good experiences with his principals in this regard. “We have good agreements about this. Often a component is so specific to a customer that it is always recognizable to the manufacturer if he or his subcontractor wants to buy it through another channel.” According to Kramer, Macom is a typical niche player. “Radar technology became hot after the Second World War. The Gallium Arsenide technology at the base is also very specific. This always meant that people opted for innovation instead of volume. Because Macom was taken over several times, innovation came to a simmer in the 1990s. Since the company was bought by John Ocampo of GaasLab in 2008, the company has taken a new turn. And the fact that current CEO John Croteau worked for NXP in Nijmegen for years played a role in the decision to start an R&D activity here, for which I have now joined the company.” Every new acquisition offers opportunities for niche market players. How different is a specialized niche market distributor, what is the difference with a 'global broadline distributor'? Hi-Tech account manager Chris Caenen talks about it from his daily practice. “I work in a network of companies I know that have questions about RF. If there are any questions or needs that require specific RF microwave technology, I will pursue them within the Macom organization. I have previously worked with many semiconductors who view the Benelux as too limited a sales market to pay attention to it themselves. But for a design win you need technical support. As a niche market distributor you must be able to pick this up within your principal's organization, that is where your added value lies. Formulate the question well and find the answer, the solution, in the right place. Niche questions need niche answers. The takeover trends in the semicon industry have led to less interest in niche markets. Every acquisition offers new opportunities for niche market players.” Niels does not play a role in direct sales support, probably not in the future. “In the Netherlands we will concentrate on new developments for high-frequency microwave and millimeter-wave applications. The Netherlands is attractive to Macom for R&D and business development. There are many professional system integrators here and large companies with R&D in Europe that you want to be close to.” “I ensure that the engineer sits with the engineer” Olaf: “Special RF components can make exactly the difference in the transmit/receive chain. Then you have to join the preliminary phase of development and you must have substantive support at hand.” Chris's role in this is that “I ensure that the engineer sits with the engineer. I drill everything in advance and map everything out to ensure that I bring the right people together. It involves valuable time of high-quality specialists.” “From this story you recognize how important it is that you make good agreements about the costs and benefits and where they end up. The question of whether you are right to have an engineer come over is a matter of built-up trust.” What is the future perspective in this market segment? Both parties at the table expect to grow in the coming years. For Hi-Tech, this growth will certainly come from the new activities as a European support center for Maury. Niels Kramer has been tasked within Macom to build up a development and application activity in the Netherlands, where at least several dozen people will be employed. “Europe has started catching up in the defense and security markets.” According to him, this has to do with “geopolitical developments”. Space and the satellite communications market are also developing, especially in Europe. We want to serve the European market by being present here as a company.” Development, trade, technological support and bringing together expertise from all over the world with local added value, that is really the profession of the FHI companies.   https://www.macom.com/blog/dla-certification-for-hi-rel-dio https://fhi.nl/rftechnologydays/programma-rf-technology-day-nederland-2016