The relocation decision was made after its partner Mitac International aquired over 50% of the company's shares in a recent capital-raising stock issue. Mitac International has maintained a close relationship with Tyan since 1997, through investment and production ties. After the shift in management control, Mitac Group president Francis Tsai will serve as Tyan's new chairman, while Symon Chang, founder of Tyan, will remain as the company's CEO and president.
For the new organization structure, the Taiwan headquarters, scheduled to start operation in October, will handle Tyan's finance, sales and product development affairs. The company's US office will still be responsible for the development of advanced products, and all of Tyan's products will be manufactured in Mitac International's production base in Kunshan, China.
Chang added that the relocation project was also prompted by the shrinking demand in the European and US corporate markets, which have continued suffering from dot-com collapse syndrome and weak market confidence after the September 11 terrorist attack, in addition to the soaring business potential in the Asia Pacific area, especially in China.
The deepening cooperation with Mitac International will now not only help Tyan to greatly cut costs, but also allow the company to expand its business in China through Mitac International's channels, Chang said.
Capitalized at US$18 million, Tyan currently generates 60% of its revenues from server and workstation products and around 40% from high-end desktop motherboards. Given its business focus, the company has been able to keep its gross margin at nearly 20%. However, as demand in its primary North American market slows down, the company's sales have suffered accordingly.
In the future, besides motherboard production, Tyan will also extend its business scope into the high-end graphics card and server barebone system markets. The company plans to start its graphics card operation using chips from ATI Technologies.
Source: DigiTimes