Plessey - Intralink working with Plessey Semiconductors on expanding business in Korea

Intralink has been engaged by Plessey Semiconductors to extend its business in Korea and drive new sales in the region. Intralink will manage Plessey Semiconductors’ current activities in Korea as well as generating new business, specifically for its recently-announced EPIC Sensor and other product lines.

“Some of our biggest existing and potential customers are based in Korea so it’s strategically a very important region for us,” said Michael LeGoff, CEO of Plessey Semiconductors. “We brought on Intralink for its track record in semiconductors, expertise in the region and the uniquely transparent approach it takes to generating sales leads and product interest. Having an experienced resource on the ground will prove invaluable to our new business as well as for existing customers.”

“Korea can be a tricky market to get into and we’re seeing a lot of UK businesses commencing operations there and turning to us for help,” said Greg Sutch, CEO of Intralink. “Plessey Semiconductors’ new product lines and existing FAB business have a lot to offer the Korean market and we’re looking forward to working with them on expanding their business. Our results with companies like Frontier Silicon, Innovision, Sondrel and Mirics show that cutting edge semiconductor technology from the west can and will continue to generate revenues out of Asia.”

The Intralink team in Korea will be headed up by Tero Taipale, one of the company’s bilingual managers based in the company’s Seoul office. Tero has lived in Korea since 2002, working as an analyst and advisor to the Finnish National Technology Agency on Korean technology developments. Originally from Finland, Tero has a broad network of contacts inside Korea’s leading technology companies and a deep understanding of local business culture.

“We chose to work with Intralink because their approach differs from others, in that it provides a transparent and proactive business development facility enabling us to effectively manage existing customers and generate new business,” said David Dent, VP Sales Asia Pacific for Plessey Semiconductors. “The fact that Intralink’s staff are bilingual, western-trained employees ensures not only smooth communication but frees us from the traditional ‘only my network’ approach to business development in Asia.”

Announced in December 2010, Plessey Semiconductors’ Electric Potential Sensor (EPS) is a completely new area of sensor technology that measures changes in an electric field in a similar way to a magnetometer detecting changes in a magnetic field. The sensor, which requires no physical or resistive contact to make measurements, will enable innovative new products to be made such as medical scanners that are simply held close to a patient’s chest to obtain a detailed ECG reading or devices that can “see” through walls.