He who knows most speaks least. Important things can be found in hidden places.

"Semiconductor" is a word we often hear, but most people have not actually held one in their hands and taken a close look at it. Semiconductors inside home electronics support convenience that can be found in all situations in our daily lives. Such contemporary technology is packed in tiny bodies only a few centimeters in size. Pioneer Micro Technology Corporation (MTC), a Pioneer group company located in Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan, manufactures and sells such tiny products.

MTC was established as a laboratory in 1979 to develop semiconductors for use in Pioneer products. Semiconductors were referred to as black boxes back then, and it was common for home electronics manufacturers to develop their own semiconductors. That was the case with semiconductors for "picture records,"or laser discs, that Pioneer was the first to launch in the world. It was uncharted territory for Pioneer, however many talented people got together to make a start. This was considered essential to Pioneer's future, and extraordinary expectations were placed on developing this technology.

When MTC was established, 100% of its semiconductors were for Pioneer products. When Pioneer's laser disc business got on the track and laser karaoke swept the world in the late 1980s, MTC continued to grow rapidly. However, when CDs took the place of records as the mainstream method of distributing audio recordings, and many home electronics makers began producing semiconductors under the "digital" slogan, competition suddenly intensified. Major semiconductor manufacturers began selling inexpensive, high-performance products, and MTC's main products lost their competitive edge. The company eventually faced severe financial problems.

So MTC made a major decision that turned the company around. MTC switched its business strategy from making products mainly for internal use to external sales. While placing its main focus on OEICs* that were highly regarded by other companies, MTC established its current structure of planning and changing projects as necessary based on dialogues with a wide range of customers to better understand the market, as well as to offer advanced technological developments and products. OEICs are a pillar of strength for MTC today, but when LDs were booming they were a sideline. A management decision under severe circumstances that was somewhat of a gamble ended up reviving the company.

MTC's sales are small compared to major companies, but we are highly rated in a specific area even by other manufacturers. We will continue the challenge of developing state-of-the-art semiconductors to contribute toward achieving a more affluent and brighter multimedia society. MTC products could be found in your computer, and we are proud of that.