Cascade Microtech
Encyclopedia
Cascade Microtech is a publicly traded
semiconductor test equipment manufacturer based in Hillsboro
in the Portland metropolitan area
of the United States. Founded in 1983, the Oregon
-based company employs nearly 400 people. Michael Burger is the chief executive officer, with the company generating $96 million in annual sales.
. The company turned profitable in 1984, and all left Tektronix by 1985. In May 1986, the young company leased a 1200 ft2 office in the Beaverton Tech Center.
By 1989, the company had grown to 55 employees and were based in Beaverton, Oregon
, near the Tek headquarters. The owners went without compensation the first three years the company was in business as they self-financed the venture before receiving $2.7 million in venture capital
from Hewlett Packard in 1990. Cascade began working towards an initial public stock offering
(IPO) as early as 1997. At that time, they expected to file for the IPO in 1998 and would use the money in part to help expand production. As of March 1997, the company employed 185 people and their biggest customers were Fujitsu
, National Semiconductor
, and Texas Instruments
.
In 1999, the company received another $16 million in funding, which at that time the company had annual sales of $52 million. The company raised additional $10 million in capital in 2000 by selling equity to Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. By 2001 the company employed 330 people and was still preparing for an initial public offering on its stock. The company then filed to go public in 2000, but dropped the plans in 2002.
By 2001 Cascade had signed on to move into a new headquarters in Hillsboro’s AmberGlen Business Center where they occupied 100000 ft2 by 2004. The company was originally located at the offices of TriQuint, their former employer. Cascade opened offices in Singapore in 2003, followed by offices in Taiwan and China in 2006.
After years of delay, Cascade Microtech filed for an IPO with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission in March 2004, hoping to raise $85 million. The company employed 243 and had revenues of $50.6 million when they filed for the IPO, and major customers included Intel and Infineon. Besides offering new shares, shares held by existing owners such as Agilent Technologies were also offered, for a total of 5.3 million shares being offered to the public. On December 15, 2004, the company started trading on the NASDAQ market, with an initial price of $14 per share under the ticker symbol CSCD. The offering raised $72 million, of which $43 million went to Cascade with the reminder to existing shareholders.
Cascade purchased socket maker Gryphics, Inc. in 2007 for $13.7 million and nearly 850,000 in Cascade Microtech stock.
Chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Eric Strid stepped down as CEO, but remained as the company chairman and became the chief technical officer in January 2008. Geoff Wild took over as CEO at that time, but resigned in December 2009. Interim CEO Paul Carlson led the company until former Merix Corp. CEO Michael Burger was hired in June 2010 and took office in July.
In January 2010, Cascade purchased SUSS MicroTec AG’s chip-testing division for $9.8 million. That division had been Cascade’s largest rival. The company’s revenue for the third quarter in 2010 was $25.3 million, a record for the company. However, Cascade still had a net loss of $400,000.
, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
.
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
semiconductor test equipment manufacturer based in Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
in the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
of the United States. Founded in 1983, the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
-based company employs nearly 400 people. Michael Burger is the chief executive officer, with the company generating $96 million in annual sales.
History
In the early 1980s Eric W. Strid and K. Reed Gleason, employees at Tektronix (Tek), attempted to get their bosses to make a microwave wafer probe for testing microchips. Management declined, but did license the technology to the two, leading to the formation of Cascade Microtech in 1982 on a part-time basis. Dale E. Carlton joined the company as well, and in 1983 they produced their first product. The founders had also worked for Tek spin-off of TriQuint SemiconductorTriQuint Semiconductor
TriQuint Semiconductor is a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance RF modules, components and foundry services. TriQuint primarily works with the semiconductor gallium arsenide, or GaAs, and is the number-three worldwide leader in GaAs devices and the...
. The company turned profitable in 1984, and all left Tektronix by 1985. In May 1986, the young company leased a 1200 ft2 office in the Beaverton Tech Center.
By 1989, the company had grown to 55 employees and were based in Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, near the Tek headquarters. The owners went without compensation the first three years the company was in business as they self-financed the venture before receiving $2.7 million in venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
from Hewlett Packard in 1990. Cascade began working towards an initial public stock offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
(IPO) as early as 1997. At that time, they expected to file for the IPO in 1998 and would use the money in part to help expand production. As of March 1997, the company employed 185 people and their biggest customers were Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
, and Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
.
In 1999, the company received another $16 million in funding, which at that time the company had annual sales of $52 million. The company raised additional $10 million in capital in 2000 by selling equity to Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. By 2001 the company employed 330 people and was still preparing for an initial public offering on its stock. The company then filed to go public in 2000, but dropped the plans in 2002.
By 2001 Cascade had signed on to move into a new headquarters in Hillsboro’s AmberGlen Business Center where they occupied 100000 ft2 by 2004. The company was originally located at the offices of TriQuint, their former employer. Cascade opened offices in Singapore in 2003, followed by offices in Taiwan and China in 2006.
After years of delay, Cascade Microtech filed for an IPO with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission in March 2004, hoping to raise $85 million. The company employed 243 and had revenues of $50.6 million when they filed for the IPO, and major customers included Intel and Infineon. Besides offering new shares, shares held by existing owners such as Agilent Technologies were also offered, for a total of 5.3 million shares being offered to the public. On December 15, 2004, the company started trading on the NASDAQ market, with an initial price of $14 per share under the ticker symbol CSCD. The offering raised $72 million, of which $43 million went to Cascade with the reminder to existing shareholders.
Chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Eric Strid stepped down as CEO, but remained as the company chairman and became the chief technical officer in January 2008. Geoff Wild took over as CEO at that time, but resigned in December 2009. Interim CEO Paul Carlson led the company until former Merix Corp. CEO Michael Burger was hired in June 2010 and took office in July.
In January 2010, Cascade purchased SUSS MicroTec AG’s chip-testing division for $9.8 million. That division had been Cascade’s largest rival. The company’s revenue for the third quarter in 2010 was $25.3 million, a record for the company. However, Cascade still had a net loss of $400,000.
Products
Cascade Microtech manufactures testing equipment for the semiconductor industry. These probes test the chips before the chips are cut from the wafers (silicon or gallium arsenide), ensuring the chips do what they are designed to accomplish. Production is performed at the company's facilities in Hillsboro, DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
According to the 2010 census, there were 75,781 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 52% White, 24% African American, 1% Native American, 15% Asian, 42 residents identifying themselves as Pacific Islander, 4% from other races, and 4% from two or more races...
.