December 2012
VIEW FROM THE TOP

Greg Peloquin
President, Richardson RFPD, Inc.

Q: The importance of sustaining and developing technology has reached a point where states and cities are more actively building relationships with universities and recruiting high-tech companies. However, there continues to be a shortage of engineering graduates, especially those focusing on RF and microwave technology. What would your company do (or is doing) to help promote careers?

A: As a global company, we are able to work with local universities in a number of ways, including but not limited to engineering grads focusing on RF and microwave technology.

In China, for example, we work closely with the three leading universities in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, offering seminars and hiring graduates — to work in our design centers, but also in various sales and marketing positions to support our key initiatives and our company as a whole.

Latin America has been a key recruiting territory for us. We bring students into our organization pre- and post-graduation, giving them opportunities to grow within our company. Because Richardson RFPD is truly a global company — and by that we mean that we have the same systems and processes around the world, not just international offices or employees — we offer graduates a wide range of opportunities, from getting in front of customers to working in the design centers that we have in each part of the world.

The same goes for Europe. We offer positions to RF engineering students in our design centers and in tech support areas, both in the field and with customers. But again, sales and marketing opportunities are also there. Because of the way we go to market, from a design-in, product creation point of view, and with a global New Product Introduction program that truly partners with our suppliers, there is a host of exciting opportunities for these students.

In North America we worked with universities on numerous marketing projects in the development of our world-class RF & Wireless website and how it supports the engineering community.

Q: For those of you serving the military market, what do you expect 2013 will bring in terms of opportunities in this sector?

A: The military market is a large portion of our business; we see an approximate three- to four-percent growth in this market, year after year, and expect to see that again in 2013. Of course, the U.S. is the biggest spender, and we’ll see how much the recent election results affect that spending.

But overall, in North America as well as in Europe, we continue to see design wins and consistent business in avionics and radar equipment as new technologies come up. We see people wanting to upgrade their technologies using GaN technologies.

Q: If your company serves the commercial markets, are you encouraged by any particular emerging application or technology?

A: From a technology point of view, we see GaN as having the biggest impact — both short and long term. The performance advantages are catching up with increased costs, so more and more applications are looking to GaN. Infrastructure is a very exciting application for GaN — small cells, certainly, but also WiFi access points and wireless LAN.

From a growth percentage and activity point of view, M2M will probably be the leader in 2013. M2M solutions using a broad array of technologies — WiFi, Bluetooth®, 4G — these all have significantly more traction, with more people interested and smaller companies building up some portions of the M2M market.

We see a strong uptick in demand in China, with wireless LAN 802.11, but this is followed closely by small cell. Japan shows promise, as well. We have had very strong design win activity in 2012. It’s just a matter of government subsidies and rollouts to see how fast these design wins turn into orders.

Q: Last year, we asked what impact the global economic crisis was having on the markets you serve and on how you run your business. What is your current perspective?

A: Well, it seems clear that the overall market slowdown dragged out longer than any one predicted a year ago.

Yes, when the economy is depressed, customers do cut back, like everyone does. Suppliers’ abilities to bring products to market are also negatively affected. And we are no different in that we have to manage our resources and devote them strategically to key opportunities in growing markets. Historically, we have seen that in depressed markets, there are increases in opportunities in smaller/key markets. We invest when most people are reducing resources.

But we are seeing very encouraging signs in terms of design wins. And one of the many benefits of being a global company is that we inevitably see activity somewhere in the way of growing markets.

In fact, as some customers cut back, they need more internal design capabilities, which is one of Richardson RFPD’s core offerings. We are actually seeing an uptick in the need for design support, as well as assistance in bringing products to market.

And so we focus on our core competencies — areas where we add the most value — and we continue to invest in key areas where we make a difference.

Q: What countries or regions do you believe will provide the greatest growth potential for the wireless industry in 2013?

A: Within North America, we’ll see strong growth in the mid-Atlantic and in southern California. We have had a number of design wins in those areas that will roll into 2013.

China and Taiwan are bound to bounce back, specifically the leading technologies to support those markets — wireless LAN and small/femtocell. We’ll see uptick there as the government starts investing more into the economy. China’s government is experiencing leadership changes, and historically, when that happens, there’s an influx of investment into the economy.
Also, Richardson RFPD has invested heavily in central Europe, specifically Russia and Turkey. Both are growing, emerging markets, and we see both markets being very strong for us in 2013.

As a global, niche distributor, we work with every area of the world. When there’s a shift in business source, we are able to support it. For example, we continue to see Vietnam take very large chunks of business that was previously being done in China. And we have the infrastructure to support that. ♦