For Subscribers

Get the complete article now!

TWST: Shall we start with a quick overview of Topsil Semiconductor Materials(Copenhagen:TPSL.CO)?

Mr. Meyer: Topsil is a company producing float-zone silicon. Float-zone silicon is only 4% of the total demand of silicon in the world, so it’s a niche product. It’s used for high voltage applications mainly, i.e. for power transmission, transistors and so on. Topsil is a 40 years old company and was therefore founded when the silicon industry started. We have been owned by Haldor Topsoe who founded it. We have been own by Motorola today we are on the Copenhagen stock exchange. We are fairly small company, only having revenue of $15 million at the start of the year. As with every other company in the silicon material industry, we have had some problems with earnings during the past year. However we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel by widening the markets for our float-zone silicon and moving in to the solar cell industry.

TWST: What are your estimates for float-zone market size?

Mr. Meyer: I think the market for float-zone in the semiconductor industry is around US $200 million. I think the market for solar cells is very similar -- around US $200 million. But the difference is that it is increasing up to 30% per year. And it should be increase for the next 5 to 10 years with an average of more than 20%. So, it’s very attractive.

TWST: Are there any developments that may present themselves as growth opportunities?

Mr. Meyer: Yes, we are have some special product which is what we called HPS products or high purity silicon which means that this silicon has high resistivity. We have seen that the MEMS Microelectronics Microsystems Applications have quite a large demand for float-zone material. We also see some possibilities within the optic sector. And particularly if people want to increase the speed on wireless communication, they probably have to use float-zone as one of the material.

TWST: Where do you hope to see the company further down the road, perhaps four or five years from now?

Mr. Meyer: The company will have 60% to 70% of the revenue coming from the solar cell industry, so there will be a significant change from almost 90%-100% today to 30% in 4-5 years time. The revenue will have increased three to four times at that stage. There will be some changes in the technology and material applied in the semiconductor industry, which will ask for more float-zone materials

TWST: What are the two or three compelling reasons why an investor should look at Topsil Semiconductor?

Mr. Meyer: First of all the company will now have excellent access to an industry which is growing with 20-30% per year -- not many companies have that. Second, even we have been hurt financially, we have still been working and investing in technology, improving capacity and our know-how and we probably have some of the best float-zone silicon in the market today. The last point is that the organization has been tuned to be ready to take off when the opportunity arrives.