Solectron to Manufacture Blackbird Development for Motorola
23 November 1998
Solectron to Manufacture Blackbird Development Boards and Development Boxes for Motorola; Relationship Enables Motorola to Meet Huge Worldwide Customer Demand
AUSTIN, Texas--Nov. 23, 1998--Motorola Monday announced that internationally based Solectron, a global provider of electronics manufacturing services, has agreed to manufacture development boards and development boxes for its recently announced multimedia-processing platform internally codenamed Blackbird.
Through its relationship with Solectron, Motorola will have the capability of supplying these Blackbird products quickly and efficiently to customers on a global basis by having them manufactured in all regions around the world.
With this close alliance, Motorola's Blackbird customers will benefit from shorter lead times on customized items because of Solectron's early involvement in the design, development and prototyping process, allowing for a smooth, rapid and cost-effective transition from product concept to volume manufacturing. Production shipments of Blackbird are scheduled to begin during the fourth quarter, and commercial deployments are expected in the first quarter of 1999.
Solectron will provide a full range of manufacturing services across the product life cycle, including design, supply base management, turnkey systems assembly and distribution. In addition, Motorola will be able to leverage Solectron's global footprint, advanced technology, high-quality processes and systems manufacturing capabilities.
Jim Reinhart, director and general manager of Motorola's Media Processing and Platforms Division, noted, "When we first began the development process for the Blackbird multimedia processing platform, we realized that time-to-market would be a critical factor in the success of this architecture.
"By working with Solectron from the early stages of development, we have dramatically decreased our time-to-market and have put into place the capability to meet what has turned out to be a phenomenal demand for the Blackbird Multimedia Processing Platform. Solectron is poised to meet this demand with quality products and on-time delivery."
Motorola's Blackbird is a new open, extensible multimedia architecture aimed at revolutionizing video entertainment and video communications. This new architecture combines the key functions of a broadband router, a network computer and a digital home theater platform. This architecture offers an unprecedented integration of communications and interactive entertainment, including video-on-demand, networked and DVD-based 3-D games, video information and conferencing, high speed Internet access and secure electronic commerce.
About Solectron
Founded in 1977, Solectron Corp. (www.solectron.com) provides integrated solutions that span the entire product life cycle -- from pre-production planning and design to manufacturing, distribution, and end-of-life product service and support -- for the world's leading electronics OEMs.
Solectron offers its customers competitive outsourcing advantages such as access to advanced manufacturing technologies, shortened product time-to-market, reduced cost of production and more effective asset utilization. The company has received more than 180 quality and service awards from its customers in addition to the 1997 and 1991 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards.
Solectron is the first company to win the Baldrige Award for Manufacturing twice in the 10-year history of the national program. The company has more than 25,000 associates in 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide with 6 million square feet of capacity. Revenues for fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 1998, were $5.3 billion.
About Motorola
As the world's No. 1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector offers multiple DigitalDNA solutions which enable its customers in the consumer, networking and computing, transportation, and wireless communications markets, to create new business opportunities. Motorola's semiconductor sales were $8.0 billion in l997.
Motorola is a global leader in advanced electronic systems and services. It creates software-driven products that provide integrated customer solutions and Internet access via wireless and satellite communications, as well as computing, networking and automotive electronics. Motorola also liberates the power of technology by providing essential digital building blocks in the form of embedded semiconductors, controls and systems. Sales in 1997 were $29.8 billion.
About Blackbird
More information on the Blackbird can be found on the Web site: http://www.motorola.com/semi/blackbird.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially are included in the Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the form 10-K and form 10-Q.