Kontron sees board market flourish
The need for specialised, embedded PCs is growing, according to the board manufacturer
Manufacturing is an area where embedded PCs are proving popular
Despite the market gloom, embedded system builder Kontron continues to enjoy growth, reporting a double-digit sales increase for its financial year 2008.
The board maker’s revenues are up 11 per cent on last year’s figure of €446.5m (£422m), rising to €495m. And the growth looks set to increase, as its order book is up on the same period last year (€290m, against last year’s €268m of orders).
Kontron explained that, as PCs move into every area of life, the need for specialised embedded computers is growing.
Norbert Hauser, vice president of marketing at Kontron, advised system builders to move into this area.
The margins on bog-standard PCs might be slim, but the demand for PCs that control production lines in manufacturing, or run audiovisual displays in hotels or in public, or point-of-sale cash machines in retail, is booming, he said.
“Kontron can custom build, so we can help resellers cut their time to market and gain a competitive advantage,” added Hauser.
A new growth area is security. Kontron has announced support for US-based software developer LynuxWorks’ proprietary embedded software LynxOS-SE 5.0. The software runs on Kontron’s ITC-320 3U CompactPCI CPU board, which is based on the Intel Core2 Duo processor.
The combination provides secure computing for what the US government describes as ‘medium robust’ security applications. LynuxWorks specialises in operating systems that meet the demands of the aerospace, security and medical industries.
The board with LynxOS-SE 5.0 is based on the 1.5 GHz Intel Core2 Duo LV processor. Error correction code (ECC) DRams and specialised long-life components are designed to help system builders offer something different in these markets.
Habib Mirab, managing director of LynuxWorks’ UK operation, said the Kontron boards have generated “huge interest” for military and transport applications.