5 years ago... Micron slams DrKB chip report

14.07.04 Micron Technology, one of the few remaining mass-manufacturers of memory chips in the US, has lashed out at an analyst report issued by Dresdner Kleinworth Benson (DrKB) in Japan.

The Far East arm of the investment bank claims there is a major design defect in Micron's 64Mbit SDRAM chip.

The report goes on to say PC manufacturers such as Compaq and Hewlett-Packard have cancelled orders, and that Micron will have to stop production and redesign the product - both claims Micron rejects.

Kobe Steel - which partners with Micron in KMT Semiconductor - has lodged a report with Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. Idaho-based Micron said it is reviewing its legal options.

Full story available here.

14.07.04 We return to this story five years on not so much to revisit the ups and downs of the memory chip market at this time - that's hardly a core focus of this publication.

What wasn't detailed in this article was our conference call with Micron spokespeople in Idaho and how sensitive the analyst-vendor relationship turned out to be. While everyone knows the effect one inaccurate or vindictive story in the media can have on an organisation's fortunes, few consider what happens when a 'rogue analyst' rears his head.

In this case Micron had to go out of its way to put the record straight. (And we should point out that not every dissenting analyst has got it wrong or is even unwelcome.) That took a lot of work and engendered more than a few drops of bad blood, especially as at that time the US company was having a tough time with Far Eastern rivals.