IC Mask Design News
March 2005
Designs on Semiconductor Growth
By Paul Golden (IT's Monday) 29th March, 2005.
An order book full until the end of 2005 is just one reason why Limerick-based design services firm IC Mask Design is confident that the recent upswing in the semiconductor sector is sustainable. With a new training division performing well and a move to a new design centre in the offing, the company expects further significant growth this year.
With 30 per cent revenue growth recorded last year and that figure expected to rise to 40 per cent this year (on margins of around 20 per cent), the belief of IC Mask Design managing director Fergal Brosnan and his co-founders that there was an opening in the market for a pure semiconductor design services company has been vindicated.
This growth has encouraged a number of other firms to start offering similar services, but Brosnan says IC Mask Design is still the only company that concentrates specifically on physical design services and has expanded its business to capitalise on an upturn in activity among semiconductor firms.
"We have seen the signs of an upturn with customers now undertaking key projects that require our services," he said. "We have completed a number of major projects with leading semiconductor players using the latest technologies (currently 65nm designs). The model has changed slightly in that we have a number of customers where we have developed long-term strategic relationships who are engaging teams of people on key projects."
"Over the last year we have launched a training division (Master-IC), which concentrates on leading edge training courses specifically targeting integrated circuit layout and more than 100 engineers have attended our training courses," he added.
Previously considered moves into the provision of silicon IP and product development [see IM 584] have been put to one side in favour of building on the company's design services, developing its training division further in terms of additional courses and growing its overall customer base, which now covers companies in France and Germany as well as Ireland and the UK.
IC Mask Design employs 12 people between the National Technological Park's Innovation Centre and its engineering facility in Blanchardstown and Brosnan expects that number to reach between 15 and 17 by the end of this year. "Sourcing good engineers is difficult but we have managed to grow the team by hiring people we have worked with previously and also through working closely with agencies," he said.
The company is still privately funded and while the focus to date has been on organic growth, its managing director did confirm that it had looked at some potential acquisition opportunities. However, a move into manufacturing is definitely not on the cards. "There would be a very significant capital investment required for such a venture and we would typically use the customer specific fabrication facilities or the leading pure-play foundries," he concluded.
About IC Mask Design
IC Mask Design is an industry leader in the provision of Physical Design Services and Software Solutions to the semiconductor industry. The company’s services encompass IC Layout and Training Programs, delivering expertise in Analog, RF, mixed-signal and digital design using the latest tools from leading EDA vendors. IC Mask Design also provides training courses covering the complete spectrum of physical design. Its Analog Layout Acceleration Platform aims to dramatically reduce analog layout design cycle time whilst producing optimal quality layout structures which incorporate circuit functionality requirements and process artefacts.
Further information is available from IC Mask Design's web site.
For more details, please contact:
Fergal BrosnanTel: +353 (0)61 448 530
Email: