National Semiconductor Corporation - Introduction

Introduction

2900 Semiconductor Drive
Santa Clara, California 95052
U.S.A.
Telephone: (408) 721-5000
Toll Free: (800) 272-9803
Fax: (408) 739-9803
Web site: http://www.national.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1959
Employees: 9,700
Sales: $1.98 billion (2004)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: NSM
NAIC: 334413 Semiconductors and Related Device Manufacturing; 334419 Other Electronic Component Manufacturing

National Semiconductor Corporation is a leading U.S. manufacturer of semiconductors used in a broad range of electronics applications. During its rapid rise to prominence in the late 1970s, National Semiconductor gained a reputation as the most efficient producer of semiconductors in the world, turning out a wide array of standardized, reliable parts at very low cost. National's prosperity relied less on high-tech genius than on low-tech frugality and hard work, qualities instilled in the company by its longtime president and chief executive, Charles E. Sporck. In the increasingly crowded world of semiconductors, however, National suffered during the 1980s from Asian price competition, turned around in the 1990s under another chief executive, Brian Halla, and used its expertise in analog chips in the 2000s to stake its claim in the evolving consumer products market. National's microprocessing chips power a multitude of portable electronics, such as cellular phones with cameras and Internet access, personal digital assistants, global positioning systems, tiny handheld television screens, and MP3 and iPod music players.