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May 1, 2004FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE...
THAT Celebrates 15
Years Supporting Pro Audio
 Milford, MA - May 1, 2004 -- Fifteen years ago,
as the Rolling Stones embarked on their record-setting "Steel
Wheels" tour, and Bonnie Raitt released her hit album "Nick of
Time", three engineers from dbx came together to form THAT
Corporation. Since its 1989 founding by Gary Hebert,
Paul Travaline, and Les Tyler
, THAT has stayed true to its original charter by designing, making
and selling the highest quality ICs for pro audio applications.
"We started THAT Corporation with what we thought was a great
business plan," said
Les Tyler, THAT's president. "By buying out the OEM division of dbx,
we expected to serve pro audio equipment makers by developing and
making OEM board-level assemblies based on dbx technology. And,
along the way we'd sell some dbx ICs -- voltage-controlled amplifiers
and rms-level detectors. We had no idea how important those ICs
would become. Of course, at the time, dbx faced an uncertain
future, so we were really just three guys trying to avoid having to
get 'real' jobs!"
Chief Technology Officer Gary Hebert said, "During our first
ten years, we split our development resources between ICs and OEM
(board-level) assemblies. Along the way, we discovered that
there was surprising strength in analog ICs for pro audio. To
respond better to customer demands, five years ago we bought our own
semiconductor fab in
Milpitas, CA, and have concentrated on IC development and marketing ever
since."
Paul Travaline
, THAT's Executive VP, pointed out that "core technologies from the
dbx acquisition -- like Blackmer™ VCAs and rms-level detectors --
are still at the heart of much of our current product line.
However, we've continued in the dbx tradition of innovation. As
a result, our latest IC offerings include new, patented technology
that make our customers' jobs easier by making the parts simple to
apply.";
Hans Van de Polder, THAT's VP for Fab Operations added, "While
it took us much longer than we originally expected, our fab is now
fully in the swing of manufacturing. We're running the world's
only semiconductor fab devoted to audio ICs. We're putting our
manufacturing strength to good use in a variety of new products.
We have several new products poised for release over the next year,
and expect they will extend the scope of applications and
customers."
Tyler concluded, "We really owe our success to our customers. It's
remarkable that they've supported us for fifteen years now. We
hope we can continue to serve them over another fifteen or more, and
will do everything we can to continue to earn their support.
Customer focus is at the core of our future business planning."
THAT Corporation, headquartered in
Milford
,
Massachusetts
, provides integrated circuits and licensing options to the
professional audio and broadcast industries. A Sustaining Member
of the Audio Engineering Society, THAT Corporation actively supports
the pro audio community.
For additional information contact:
THAT Corporation,
45 Sumner Street,
Milford
,
MA
01757-1656
,
U.S.A.
Telephone: (508) 478-9200; Fax: (508) 478-0990;
E-mail: info@thatcorp.com
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