Our strategy is to be a key provider of micrologic devices. To implement our business strategy, we intend to focus on our core 8-bit micrologic business, expand our addressable portion of 8-bit market, introduce devices targeted at key vertical markets, deliver complete solutions to our customers, and utilize efficient manufacturing.
ZiLOG, Inc., designs, develops, and manufactures 8-bit micrologic semiconductor devices, also known as embedded control devices, used in consumer electronics, home appliances, security systems, point-of-sale terminals, personal computer peripherals, personal health and medical products, and industrial and automotive applications. The company was a pioneer of the computer chip industry in the mid-1970s. Weak demand for its products and lack of a stable business strategy left it stumbling for many years during the 1980s and 1990s. ZiLOG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001. It emerged the following year with plans to focus solely on embedded control devices.
Formed in the mid-1970s, ZiLOG was a trailblazer in the semiconductor industry and a pioneer of the California high-tech hotbed known as Silicon Valley. The company was founded by electrical engineer and entrepreneur Ralph Ungermann. Ungermann grew up in California. His parents, both educators, encouraged active learning, and Ralph proved to be a quick study and hard worker. In high school, Ungermann was fascinated by an event that would change the course of his life: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite. "I was leaning toward a career in law or medicine when the Russians launched the space race," Ungermann recalled in the December 17, 1990 Business Journal-San Jose. "I was absolutely enthralled. I would be an engineer."
Ungermann won a Navy scholarship that allowed him to eventually complete his electrical engineering degree at the University of California at Berkeley, and then a master's degree in computer architecture from the University of California at Irvine. After college, Ungermann took a job with Collins Radio, which was one of the leading technology firms of its day. During his stint at Collins, Ungermann became fascinated with semiconductors. Semiconductor breakthroughs during the 1960s by Bell Labs and other companies were just beginning to open the door to a commercial chip industry. When Rockwell International purchased Collins in 1969, Ungermann decided to leave the company for Silicon Valley pioneer Intel.
In less than a year Ungermann's team had created a breakthrough 8-bit microprocessor, beating the well-heeled Intel and Motorola to the punch. Dubbed the Z80, ZiLOG's chip was an immediate hit. The Z80 became the heart of many of the earliest personal computers and the processor of choice for electronic game manufacturers like Coleco in the emerging video game industry. Within a few years ZiLOG was generating $50 million in sales annually. Exxon, delighted with ZiLOG's success, began investing heavily in the company. With Exxon's financial backing, ZiLOG began drafting plans to start manufacturing computer systems and semiconductor components to complement its cutting-edge chips.
Throughout the late 1970s Exxon had allowed ZiLOG to operate autonomously. Critics charged that ZiLOG, free from constraints placed on other companies by financial markets, wasted millions of dollars developing technologies without a solid business plan. When it became clear that ZiLOG was losing the chip race, Exxon began to assert more control and started to steer ZiLOG toward the field of computerized manufacturing. ZiLOG's management resisted Exxon's direction, and in 1979 Ungermann left to start a new company. Faggin remained for another year in a diminished managerial role before leaving to start his own venture.
In May 1982 Exxon hired Franc deWeeger to head the limping ZiLOG. The 50-year-old deWeeger was a seasoned semiconductor manager with more than 15 years at Motorola and two years with a small
