News & Events
Intersil Corporation Emerges as Independent Semiconductor Company; Divestiture from Harris Corporation Now Complete

PALM BAY, FL, August 16, 1999 – An aggressive "new" player officially joined the semiconductor industry today – Intersil Corporation, the new name and corporate identity of the former Semiconductor unit of Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS). Intersil was formally launched as an independent company on August 13, 1999 under terms previously announced by its former parent company.

Intersil also announced today it has appointed Gregory L. Williams as President and CEO of the new company. Williams, 46, had been President of the former Harris Semiconductor since October 1998. According to Williams, Intersil’s new position as a stand-alone semiconductor supplier will deliver the focus and agility needed to pursue high-growth opportunities created by the communications revolution and the Internet.

"As part of Harris Corporation, our organization built a solid reputation for delivering world-class semiconductor products in analog, mixed-signal, power and radiation-hardened technology," said Williams. "As a dedicated organization solely committed to the semiconductor business, we’re positioned to move new designs to market faster than ever before through aggressive marketing, risk-taking, and quicker decision-making and deployment of resources. In the past 18 months, we’ve made Intersil a more agile company by focusing on our value added businesses and streamlining our processes."

Intersil will pursue growth by developing advanced architectures for its customers’ next- generation systems, based on its core analog and mixed-signal technologies. It will continue to focus on high-growth segments of the communications, power and space & defense markets where its design and manufacturing expertise delivers the greatest value.

"The semiconductor industry is constantly redefining itself, not only to meet the challenges of its rapid evolution, but to anticipate and even shape them," said Williams. "The Internet boom, the communications revolution, and the explosion in the use of semiconductors in new automobiles and other consumer products represent the industry’s most significant opportunities yet. As a growing $530M company, we’re poised to meet these challenges by getting closer to our customers at the design stage and delivering advanced solutions where our core competencies bring clear technological advantage to their products."

As an example, Williams cites Intersil’s leadership position in the wireless networking market, an area of heavy investment for the company over the last four years. Next month, Intersil will unveil in full production its flagship product – PRISM^® II - a high-speed, low-cost chip set for wireless networking already endorsed and designed-in by networking and telecommunications industry heavyweights such as 3Com Corporation, Compaq Computer Corp., Nokia, Nortel Networks, and Samsung Corporation.

The company has also distinguished itself in power semiconductor markets with advanced integrated circuits (ICs) and discretes for today’s demanding Pentium-class microprocessors and hot swap file server and Device Bay applications. "Our leadership in desktop power ICs is now being extended to laptops and file servers," adds Williams. "In addition, we will continue to build on our technology leadership in high speed IGBTs, radiation-hardened discretes, and automotive/industrial MOSFETs."

"The capabilities of our Space & Defense Business in both radiation-hardened ICs and discrete semiconductors position us well for continued leadership in the commercial and military space markets. We're particularly strong in power management applications in commercial and military satellites for today’s space-based communications infrastructure, where our distributed power solution provides increased reliability and weight savings," Williams noted.

Intersil also unveiled a new logo: a garnet-and-black icon that illustrates the two parts of the Intersil name in a bi-level manner to accentuate its dual meaning. Adds Williams, "The first half of our name and logo signals our intention to pursue Internet-related opportunities, while also conveying other messages about the new company. We deliver system solutions in inter-disciplines, including communications, power and space & defense. The second half of the Intersil logo underscores our legacy in world-class silicon technology."

About Intersil Corporation
Intersil Corporation uses analog, mixed-signal, power and radiation hardening technologies to develop advanced integrated circuits and discrete semiconductors for high-growth segments of the communications, power and space/defense markets. With 5,800 employees worldwide, Intersil will utilize the rich intellectual property heritage from Harris, GE Solid State and RCA. The company’s worldwide web site is located at http://www.intersil.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Specific risks include worldwide demand and product pricing for integrated circuits, and reductions in the U.S. and worldwide defense and space budgets. In addition, Intersil cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends and events to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

####

PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation.
Editor’s note: A high-resolution image of Intersil’s new logo is available via PR Newswire. Non-subscribers of PR Newswire may also receive a copy of the logo upon request.