Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is an American privately held, multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells and supports flash memory products and other computer-related memory products. Headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA, Kingston Technology employs more than 4,700 people worldwide as of Q1 2011. The company has manufacturing and logistics facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Taiwan, and China.
It is the largest independent producer of DRAM memory modules, currently owning 45.8% of the third-party worldwide DRAM module market share, according to iSuppli.[1] Kingston is arguably the second largest supplier of flash memory. Gartner ranks Kingston as the world's #1 supplier of USB drives and #3 in flash cards.
In 2010, Kingston generated revenues of US $6.5 billion. Forbes lists Kingston as #77 on its list of "The 500 Largest Private Companies in the U.S." and Inc. ranks Kingston as the #6 Private Company By Revenue, #1 in the Computer Hardware category.
Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.
Through its ownership of Kingston Technology Company Inc. and Advanced Validation Labs Inc. (AVL), Kingston Technology Corporation is one of the world’s leading memory module manufacturing, module validation, semiconductor packaging and test companies in the world
Kingston Technology cuts a regal figure in the realm of memory. The company is a top maker of memory modules -- printed circuit boards loaded with DRAM or other memory chips that increase the capacity and speed of printers and computers. Kingston also makes flash memory cards used in portable electronic devices, such as digital still cameras, MP3 players, and wireless phones. Kingston takes on some manufacturing chores for customers through its sister company Payton Technology, which runs a specialized factory in China that tests and packages memory chips before assembling them into customized memory modules. Founders John Tu (president) and David Sun (COO) own Kingston Technology.
In 1992, Kingston was ranked the fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine. With no debt and no venture capital, revenues surged to $251 million (with about one-third coming from international markets) and the company grew to employ 175 people. Since 1987, sales had increased 368 percent compounded annually. Competing with about 15 companies, Kingston held a 45 percent share of the computer memory market in 1992. That year, the company continued to diversify its offerings, adding a line of Ethernet and Token Ring networking products. In 1993, new networking and storage product lines were introduced. That year, it became apparent that the company's innovative vendor relationships were working; demand for semiconductors exceeded supply, with suppliers shipping to Kingston when orders from other buyers were delayed. Sales for 1993 were $433 million, and the number of employees grew to 255.
By 1994, Kingston had developed nine separate processor upgrade products and a full line of portable products. The company entered the portable market with its introduction of DataTraveler, a portable hard disk drive, and DataPak, a portable PCMCIA hard disk drive. When ISO 9000 (International Organization for Standardization) became the worldwide quality standard, Kingston immediately passed the test, attaining certification in September 1994 and successfully completing its first audit. The billion-dollar mark began to feel reachable, as 1994 revenues climbed to $800 million due to the efforts of 310 employees. Kingston's competition had increased, with 70 companies in the $7.2 billion dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) module market, but Kingston was still number one. The company's growth was physically evident; the workstation memory group was moved to a different building, and Kingston purchased blue Huffy bikes to shuttle employees between the two worksites.
Yet, growth began to present questions for the company. In 1994, Kingston hired its first chief financial officer, a former Wall Street investment banker named Henry Tchen, and issued security badges to employees. Outsiders wondered if the company's family environment would be tossed aside when revenues reached the billion dollar mark.
When Microsoft introduced the Windows 95 operating system, in 1995, demand for Kingston's memory upgrades skyrocketed. Windows required more memory than most consumers had in their existing hardware. The company surpassed a billion dollars in sales that year, earning $1.3 billion with 450 employees.
International development became a major focus around this time. Expanding its worldwide distribution network, Kingston opened a branch office in Munich, Germany, in 1995. The next year, a branch office was opened in Paris. Kingston worked with Legend Technology Limited to develop computers for the Chinese market in 1996. Also in 1996, the company introduced the TurboChip 133 processor upgrade, which gave a 486 computer the power of a 75 megahertz Pentium chip, and three new plug-and-play Ethernet adapters.
By this time, Tu and Sun had become two of America's wealthiest entrepreneurs, occupying places on the Forbes list of America's 400 richest people. Leading the company, Tu focused on sales and marketing while Sun oversaw engineering. As a team, Tu and Sun were noted for their quick decision-making. The pair often decided to launch new products while walking from their cars to the Kingston headquarters, and the success rate for new products was an unheard-of 90 percent in 1992. Kingston's founders did not wish to take the company public, desiring to maintain the family environment they had built.
In 1996, the price of DRAM dropped dramatically, forcing upgrade vendors to boost sales volume and enter new markets. Kingston responded by pursuing the OEM market, courting companies such as Compaq Computer Corp., IBM Corp, and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Taking analysts by surprise, in 1996 Kingston was acquired by Softbank Corporation, the world's largest publisher of computer-related magazines and books and the world's largest producer of technology-related trade shows and expositions. Softbank was also the largest distributor of computer software, peripherals and systems in Japan. Softbank purchased 80 percent of the company for $1.5 billion, and Kingston characteristically shared $100 million with its employees as a holiday bonus (doling out approximately $75,000 to each employee). Softbank's revenues for fiscal year 1996 were $1.6 billion, and the company had 6,000 employees across the world. Under the terms of the acquisition, Tu and Sun remain in charge of the company's operations. What was surprising about the acquisition was that Tu and Sun, who had been extremely financially conservative from the outset (never even agreeing to take out a bank loan), had agreed to be purchased by a company that was in the process of a takeover spending spree with high financing. Why would Kingston agree to such an alliance?
The answer was that Softbank's strong distribution channels in Japan--where the company had virtually no presence--would be an asset to Kingston's expansion plans. The company's dominance of the distribution channels selling to America's Fortune 1000 had made it the largest memory module manufacturer, but outside markets remained unconquered. With Softbank's acquisition, the company began targeting international growth. In 1997, Kingston announced a $40 million expansion plan, involving the construction of production facilities in Europe and Asia and the expansion of its U.S. facility to include a new manufacturing center. The goal of the expansion was to achieve faster turnaround times and lower prices amid the plummeting price of memory, which had dropped 80 percent during 1996--97. Kingston opened a European Headquarters in the United Kingdom and announced plans to open a manufacturing site there as well.
In its first decade, Kingston has grown from a company that manufactured a single memory module to an international corporation with over a billion dollars in revenues. Astounding growth has been achieved through eschewing the cutthroat bargain-oriented mentality of the company's competitors, instead valuing long-term relationships and employee satisfaction. With the company's acquisition by Softbank and its expansion in Europe and Asia, a new phase of development has begun in the second decade. The lingering question about the company's future remains: can the family-style management that has secured Kingston's leadership place in the market continue to coexist with the demands of a billion dollar business?
Financial Highlights
Fiscal Year End: December
Revenue (2009): 4100.00 M
Revenue Growth (1 yr): 2.50%
Employees (2009): 4,000
Employee Growth (1 yr): (-2.40%)
Statistics:
Private Subsidiary
Founded: 1987
Employees: 450
Sales: $1.3 billion (1996)
SICs: 3572 Computer Storage Devices
Key People
• President: John Tu
• COO: David Sun
• Media Contact, United States and Canada: David Leong
Contact Information
Address: 17600 Newhope St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
It is the largest independent producer of DRAM memory modules, currently owning 45.8% of the third-party worldwide DRAM module market share, according to iSuppli.[1] Kingston is arguably the second largest supplier of flash memory. Gartner ranks Kingston as the world's #1 supplier of USB drives and #3 in flash cards.
In 2010, Kingston generated revenues of US $6.5 billion. Forbes lists Kingston as #77 on its list of "The 500 Largest Private Companies in the U.S." and Inc. ranks Kingston as the #6 Private Company By Revenue, #1 in the Computer Hardware category.
Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.
Through its ownership of Kingston Technology Company Inc. and Advanced Validation Labs Inc. (AVL), Kingston Technology Corporation is one of the world’s leading memory module manufacturing, module validation, semiconductor packaging and test companies in the world
Kingston Technology cuts a regal figure in the realm of memory. The company is a top maker of memory modules -- printed circuit boards loaded with DRAM or other memory chips that increase the capacity and speed of printers and computers. Kingston also makes flash memory cards used in portable electronic devices, such as digital still cameras, MP3 players, and wireless phones. Kingston takes on some manufacturing chores for customers through its sister company Payton Technology, which runs a specialized factory in China that tests and packages memory chips before assembling them into customized memory modules. Founders John Tu (president) and David Sun (COO) own Kingston Technology.
In 1992, Kingston was ranked the fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine. With no debt and no venture capital, revenues surged to $251 million (with about one-third coming from international markets) and the company grew to employ 175 people. Since 1987, sales had increased 368 percent compounded annually. Competing with about 15 companies, Kingston held a 45 percent share of the computer memory market in 1992. That year, the company continued to diversify its offerings, adding a line of Ethernet and Token Ring networking products. In 1993, new networking and storage product lines were introduced. That year, it became apparent that the company's innovative vendor relationships were working; demand for semiconductors exceeded supply, with suppliers shipping to Kingston when orders from other buyers were delayed. Sales for 1993 were $433 million, and the number of employees grew to 255.
By 1994, Kingston had developed nine separate processor upgrade products and a full line of portable products. The company entered the portable market with its introduction of DataTraveler, a portable hard disk drive, and DataPak, a portable PCMCIA hard disk drive. When ISO 9000 (International Organization for Standardization) became the worldwide quality standard, Kingston immediately passed the test, attaining certification in September 1994 and successfully completing its first audit. The billion-dollar mark began to feel reachable, as 1994 revenues climbed to $800 million due to the efforts of 310 employees. Kingston's competition had increased, with 70 companies in the $7.2 billion dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) module market, but Kingston was still number one. The company's growth was physically evident; the workstation memory group was moved to a different building, and Kingston purchased blue Huffy bikes to shuttle employees between the two worksites.
Yet, growth began to present questions for the company. In 1994, Kingston hired its first chief financial officer, a former Wall Street investment banker named Henry Tchen, and issued security badges to employees. Outsiders wondered if the company's family environment would be tossed aside when revenues reached the billion dollar mark.
When Microsoft introduced the Windows 95 operating system, in 1995, demand for Kingston's memory upgrades skyrocketed. Windows required more memory than most consumers had in their existing hardware. The company surpassed a billion dollars in sales that year, earning $1.3 billion with 450 employees.
International development became a major focus around this time. Expanding its worldwide distribution network, Kingston opened a branch office in Munich, Germany, in 1995. The next year, a branch office was opened in Paris. Kingston worked with Legend Technology Limited to develop computers for the Chinese market in 1996. Also in 1996, the company introduced the TurboChip 133 processor upgrade, which gave a 486 computer the power of a 75 megahertz Pentium chip, and three new plug-and-play Ethernet adapters.
By this time, Tu and Sun had become two of America's wealthiest entrepreneurs, occupying places on the Forbes list of America's 400 richest people. Leading the company, Tu focused on sales and marketing while Sun oversaw engineering. As a team, Tu and Sun were noted for their quick decision-making. The pair often decided to launch new products while walking from their cars to the Kingston headquarters, and the success rate for new products was an unheard-of 90 percent in 1992. Kingston's founders did not wish to take the company public, desiring to maintain the family environment they had built.
In 1996, the price of DRAM dropped dramatically, forcing upgrade vendors to boost sales volume and enter new markets. Kingston responded by pursuing the OEM market, courting companies such as Compaq Computer Corp., IBM Corp, and Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Taking analysts by surprise, in 1996 Kingston was acquired by Softbank Corporation, the world's largest publisher of computer-related magazines and books and the world's largest producer of technology-related trade shows and expositions. Softbank was also the largest distributor of computer software, peripherals and systems in Japan. Softbank purchased 80 percent of the company for $1.5 billion, and Kingston characteristically shared $100 million with its employees as a holiday bonus (doling out approximately $75,000 to each employee). Softbank's revenues for fiscal year 1996 were $1.6 billion, and the company had 6,000 employees across the world. Under the terms of the acquisition, Tu and Sun remain in charge of the company's operations. What was surprising about the acquisition was that Tu and Sun, who had been extremely financially conservative from the outset (never even agreeing to take out a bank loan), had agreed to be purchased by a company that was in the process of a takeover spending spree with high financing. Why would Kingston agree to such an alliance?
The answer was that Softbank's strong distribution channels in Japan--where the company had virtually no presence--would be an asset to Kingston's expansion plans. The company's dominance of the distribution channels selling to America's Fortune 1000 had made it the largest memory module manufacturer, but outside markets remained unconquered. With Softbank's acquisition, the company began targeting international growth. In 1997, Kingston announced a $40 million expansion plan, involving the construction of production facilities in Europe and Asia and the expansion of its U.S. facility to include a new manufacturing center. The goal of the expansion was to achieve faster turnaround times and lower prices amid the plummeting price of memory, which had dropped 80 percent during 1996--97. Kingston opened a European Headquarters in the United Kingdom and announced plans to open a manufacturing site there as well.
In its first decade, Kingston has grown from a company that manufactured a single memory module to an international corporation with over a billion dollars in revenues. Astounding growth has been achieved through eschewing the cutthroat bargain-oriented mentality of the company's competitors, instead valuing long-term relationships and employee satisfaction. With the company's acquisition by Softbank and its expansion in Europe and Asia, a new phase of development has begun in the second decade. The lingering question about the company's future remains: can the family-style management that has secured Kingston's leadership place in the market continue to coexist with the demands of a billion dollar business?
Financial Highlights
Fiscal Year End: December
Revenue (2009): 4100.00 M
Revenue Growth (1 yr): 2.50%
Employees (2009): 4,000
Employee Growth (1 yr): (-2.40%)
Statistics:
Private Subsidiary
Founded: 1987
Employees: 450
Sales: $1.3 billion (1996)
SICs: 3572 Computer Storage Devices
Key People
• President: John Tu
• COO: David Sun
• Media Contact, United States and Canada: David Leong
Contact Information
Address: 17600 Newhope St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708