Microchip Technology Delivers Five Billionth PIC(R) Microcontroller.

Power-Meter Maker Linyang Takes Delivery of Five Billionth PIC Microcontroller 

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the shipment of its five billionth PIC([R]) microcontroller to Chinese power-meter maker Jiangsu Linyang Electronics. Microchip delivered its five billionth microcontroller, the PIC18LF8720-I/PT, barely a year after delivering its four billionth in September 2005.

Today's announcement demonstrates the industry's continued acceptance of Microchip's PIC microcontrollers as the high-performance, cost-effective solution for embedded-control designs, particularly in China, where the company continues to enjoy strong growth.

"Shipping our five billionth PIC microcontroller is a remarkable achievement, and shipping it to a customer in China is even more satisfying as this year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of our first China office in Shanghai in 1996," said Microchip's president and chief executive officer Steve Sanghi. "In the 10 years we have been in China, we have enjoyed rapid growth, which we expect to continue. We have opened 11 offices and are continuing to make other investments in the community, such as setting up comprehensive training and university programs that are grooming the engineers of the future."

According to Sanghi, going from four to five billion in a year is a significant accomplishment for Microchip, as it continues to gain worldwide market share. "We have reached this milestone because our PIC microcontroller architecture, MPLAB([R]) development systems, direct sales and sales-channel partners provide maximum benefits for customers to reach their design goals."

A Microchip customer for five years, Linyang is one of the largest manufacturers of power meters in China Co with over 1,600 employees spread across 22 locations and an annual sales revenue of RMB 800 million 2004. Two of its flagship products, namely the single-phase watt-hour meter (DDS71) and single-phase multi-rate watt-hour meter (DDSF71), have been awarded national recognition in China, with the former DDS71 being certified by KEMA in 2003.

Linyang, today, uses a broad line of embedded-control solutions from Microchip, including PIC microcontrollers and dsPIC([R]) digital signal controllers, serial EEPROMs and analog devices. "Our longstanding relationship with Microchip Technology has been beneficial to both parties, and we are proud to be the recipient of their five billionth PIC microcontroller," said Yonghua Lu, president of the Linyang Group. "The exceptional development tools and support from Microchip helped speed our product development and qualification time."

Microchip serves more than 50,000 customers in more than 65 countries, has shipped more than 470,000 development tools to date, and partners with more than 130 global third-party tool manufacturers.

Microchip produces more than 400 PIC microcontrollers (MCUs). The five billionth PIC MCU shipped, the PIC18LF8720-I/PT, highlights the unique PIC18 8-bit architecture, providing 128 Kbytes of high-endurance Flash program memory. Most 8-bit MCUs only support program memory up to 64 Kbytes or less, forcing customers to change platforms when their program size grows. The PIC MCU 8-bit architecture scales up to 2 Mbytes, maintaining software investments and allowing customers to reuse their software across a wide range of MCU products.

About Jiangsu Linyang Electronics

Jiangsu Linyang Electronics Co., Ltd. specializes in R&D, production and sales of intelligent metering products for electric utilities. Founded in 1997, the company was the first to establish a metering company in China and is now the leading company in the metering industry. In just ten years the company has also developed a strong reputation internationally specializing in five sectors including: electronic energy meter, solar-energy photovoltaic power generation, real estate, ecological agriculture and modern service industry. The company's total production in 2006 will reach RMB3 billion yuan.

Microchip Customer Support

Microchip is committed to supporting its customers by helping design engineers develop products faster and more efficiently. Customers can access four main service areas at www.microchip.com. The Support area provides a fast way to get questions answered; the Sample area offers free evaluation samples of any Microchip device; microchipDIRECT provides 24-hour pricing, ordering, inventory and credit for convenient purchasing of all Microchip devices and development tools; finally, the Training area educates customers through webinars, sign-ups for local seminar and workshop courses, and information about the annual MASTERs events held throughout the world.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.

Note: The Microchip name and logo, PIC, MPLAB, and dsPIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the USA and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.