Blog

Written by James Bourne

As the semiconductor industry continues to navigate supply chain pressures, rapid electrification, and the growing demand for AI-enabled applications, independent service providers are playing a crucial role in ensuring quality, reliability, and scalability. Ahead of Microelectronics UK, we sat down with Martin Sallenhag, CEO of RoodMicrotec, to discuss the company’s vision, its role in Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, and the opportunities it sees in emerging technologies.

With over 20 years’ experience in mixed-signal ASICs and a decade at the helm of RoodMicrotec, Martin shares his perspective on the key challenges facing the sector, the industries driving demand, and why events like Microelectronics UK are vital for fostering collaboration and accelerating innovation.

Tell me a bit about yourself, about your role and your responsibilities at RoodMicrotec as well as a bit about what RoodMicrotec does.

My name is Martin Sallenhag and I joined RoodMicrotec 10 years ago after more than 20 years in the mixed-signal ASIC business. I’m the CEO of RoodMicrotec and also head the Semiconductor Services Division within the Microtest Group. We are an independent service company for testing, qualification, and supply of semiconductor devices to the market. RoodMicrotec exists since 1969 with the main location in Nördlingen and a second location in Stuttgart, both in southern Germany. Since 2023, we belong to the Microtest Group with which we now offer test development and production in Italy and Malysia as well.

What are the key opportunities and challenges your industry is facing right now both from a technical and operational perspective - particularly in areas such as semiconductor supply chain services, test engineering, and quality assurance?

The key opportunities we see right now are the electrification of both the automotive market as well as the industrial market. Geopolitical difficulties also force many European companies to consider having a local supply chain and we are very well positioned to be a strong partner in Europe for these customers. One challenge is the increasing cost structure in the world due to political reasons which is causing a reduction in private spending and therefore also impacts the sales that we can achieve. Another challenge is the geopolitical situation in the world which is limiting the willingness for investments of some customers.

Which industries and sectors have the most potential for RoodMicrotec’s semiconductor testing, qualification, and supply chain management services and why?

Automotive will continue to be a big market, especially since the electronics content of each car is increasing. Additionally, industrial applications are getting more and more electronic to be able to communicate with each other and to improve the efficiency of production. The third area which is very interesting is computing with the increasing demand due to AI applications.

What are the key emerging technologies and applications you are betting on - especially where RoodMicrotec’s integrated semiconductor services could be game-changing?

The areas where we see great potential are high speed communication, either optical or efficiently using normal electronic transmission. We also see a big interest in Chiplets where we can make use of the right semiconductor node for a certain function and then integrate many of these small parts into one bigger system with lower overall power consumption. In these areas, we are working on developing an efficient testing strategy to help our customers.

How important are events such as Microelectronics UK in helping bring businesses together?

These events are very important to be able to meet old and new business contacts in one location. Exchanging what is needed and what we do is significantly improved by meeting in one location for a couple of days.

What message are you hoping to get across at Microelectronics UK? What do you think the key topics of discussion will be on the show floor?

Our message will be that we are a reliable partner for the European market with internal possibilities to do testing also in Asia if this is required from a logistics perspective. The main topic for the show will for sure be the hype around AI with all possible technologies around and behind this. The second main topic will be how Europe can be a leading player in the world-wide electronics community.

What can we expect to see in terms of a general roadmap from RoodMicrotec in the next 12 months?

The general roadmap moving forward is to be the preferred independent test house in Europe with the possibility to also run production in Asia. The benefit of this approach is that the customers can bring up new complex products in the same time zone, including development and qualification, and then move production to Asia to avoid sending parts around the world. RoodMicrotec will also continue to build strong partnerships with other companies to be able to offer a full turn-key solution out of Europe.