austriamicrosystems AG, a leading global designer and manufacturer of analog integrated circuits (ICs) for industrial, medical, communications and automotive applications, and AMSC Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese semiconductor and component distributor, today announced the signing of a distribution agreement between the two companies.

Under the agreement, AMSC will distribute austriamicrosystems' entire line of standard semiconductor products throughout Japan. With headquarters in Tokyo and branches in Sendai, Iwaki, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, AMSC covers the entire Japanese market through its more than 100 sales and marketing specialists and more than 20 FAEs (field application engineers). austriamicrosystems, headquartered in Austria with 16 locations worldwide, is strongly positioned in the global analog semiconductor market. The company has been present in Japan with a sales office since 1996. austriamicrosystems is actively expanding its ASSP (Application Specific Standard Products) and Standard Linear portfolio with ASSPs targeting industrial control, communications and automotive markets among others and Standard Linear products for a wide variety of applications.

"We are extremely pleased to have the highly targeted, technical sales team of AMSC as our marketing partner in Japan," commented Carlo Rebughini, austriamicrosystems' Head of Sales. "In adding a leading distribution channel in Japan, we are able to market our range of innovative ASSPs and world-class Standard Linear products to a broad spectrum of Japanese customers. Given our focus on expanding our standard product offering, it was vitally important that we find a distributor with the market perspective and sales approach to match our standard product and Standard Linear strategy. The end-markets served by AMSC and its focus on working with the engineering community align well with austriamicrosystems’ worldwide market approach."

"We are very excited about the austriamicrosystems - AMSC partnership and are looking forward to a long and prosperous relationship," stated Isao Tatsuno, Managing Director, Business Development at ASMC. "We see ourselves as a silicon solution provider to our customers and austriamicrosystems’ product lines strongly enhance our semiconductor offering. We are confident that our marketing efforts and information sharing capabilities will help promote austriamicrosystems' products throughout the Japanese market."

About austriamicrosystems
austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining more than 20 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 800 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access through its business units Communications, Industry & Medical, Automotive and Full Service Foundry. austriamicrosystemss is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).

About AMSC
For over 25 years AMSC is a specialized technical distributor focused on leading edge technology and providing world-class service to all of its business partners. With headquarters in Tokyo and branches in Sendai, Iwaki, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, AMSC covers the entire Japanese market through its more than 100 sales and marketing specialists and more than 20 FAEs (field application engineers). For more information please visit www.amsc.co.jp