KIC Continues Its Focus on the North American Market

(San Diego, CA -- March 28, 2008) : KIC, the leader of thermal process development and control products, and winner of multiple industry awards, announces that 2008 marks the company‘s 30-year anniversary, and that it is going to continue investing in the North American market throughout this year and into the future.

Brian O‘Leary, KIC‘s North American Sales Manager, considers, "Anniversaries are a time of reflection, to think how we got here, but also where we are going."

KIC‘s is a story of entrepreneurial ingenuity. The founders had a vision and started a business building monitoring systems for ovens out of a garage. For several decades, a continuous stream of innovative technologies, many of which were industry firsts, have become the standard in the electronics manufacturing industry. Some of these firsts include real-time profilers, process optimization software, automatic profiling systems and process window index (PWI).

O‘Leary continues to say that with a history of not following the beaten path, it should come as no surprise that KIC has again invested in — at least at first glance — counterintuitive areas. "Much of the focus in our industry over the last several years has been centered on the manufacturing expansion of Asia and, in particular, China and of late smaller markets such as India and Vietnam," O‘Leary said. With three support centers in China alone, KIC has been no exception in this regard. What may be a surprise is that KIC perceives North America as a very promising market today — one with a very large installed base with some very specific needs." For example, the automotive and medical sectors demand better process control and traceability. Additionally, most manufacturers are now focused on highly flexible operations that require faster production turnover and uptime to generate profitability, and the higher cost-level in North America also favors added automation.

KIC‘s technology is well positioned to add value to North American electronics manufacturers by eliminating most of the manual tasks associated with the thermal process, and by providing automatic process traceability, process optimization for quicker oven changeover or lower electricity use, and, in general, elevating the thermal process to a higher level of automation.

Lately KIC has been hiring engineers for its North American operations. Also, KIC has been focusing on its North American customer service group, which has been recognized with several awards in recent years. "We think that North America is a great place to do business and we continue to invest into this market to be able to help manufacturers here become more competitive and profitable," said O‘Leary.

KIC -- Headquarter Office
15950 Bernardo Center Dr #E
San Diego, CA  92127
Tel: +1(858)673-6050
Fax: +1(858)673-0085

Company Contact:   Bjorn Dahle <bjorn@kicmail.com>
Editorial Contact: Allene Bailey <allene@kicmail.com>