Kingston Technology Company history, profile and history video
Founded in 1987 by John Tu and David Sun, Kingston Technology is an independent maker of memory products for desktops, notebooks, servers and printers; and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, cameras and MP3 players. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, China and Fountain Valley, Calif. Kingston’s back-end processing facility, Payton Technology Corp., provides memory packaging, testing and logistics. Kingston supports all memory processing functions–from receipt of wafer to completed module. Kingston serves a network of distributors, original equipment manufacturers and retail customers worldwide.”
“The History of Kingston Technology Company
1987 – Beginnings
Kingston Technology grew out of a severe shortage of surface-mount memory chips in the high-tech marketplace in the 1980s. Determined to find a solution, founders John Tu and David Sun combined their unique engineering expertise and designed a revolutionary new Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM) that utilised readily available, older through-hole components. This meeting of minds gave birth to a new technology, a new industry standard and, on 17 October 1987, a new company.
1989 – Kingston differentiates itself from its competitors with 100 per cent testing, resulting in quality assurance and a leadership position in the market.
1990 – Kingston branches out into its first non-memory product line: processor upgrades.
1992 – Kingston is ranked the number 1 fastest-growing privately held company in America by Inc. magazine.
1993 – Kingston expands into networking and storage product lines.
1994
Kingston introduces DataTraveler®and DataPak™portable products.
Kingston achieves the rare feat of becoming ISO 9000 certified on its first assessment attempt.
Forbes magazine lists Kingston as number 367 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”. Kingston is listed with revenue of $489 million.
1995
Kingston joins the Billion-Dollar Club as the company’s 1995 sales exceed $1.3 billion.
Ads run in the Wall Street Journal, Orange County Register and LA Times with the headline “Thanks a Billion!” and a listing of all Kingston employees.
1996
On August 15, Softbank®Corporation of Japan acquires 80 per cent of Kingston for a total of $1.5 billion.
Kingston and Toshiba co-market memory upgrades for Toshiba PCs.
This is the first time that a PC OEM and a memory manufacturer have teamed up to create a co-branded module.
In December, John Tu and David Sun allocate $100 million for employee bonuses as a result of the acquisition.
1997 – Kingston opens its European headquarters in the United Kingdom.
1998 – Kingston is ranked 2nd by Fortune Magazine in its list of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in the United States”.
1999 – In July, John Tu and David Sun buy back the 80 per cent of Kingston owned by Softbank for $450 million.
2000
Forbes magazine lists Kingston as number 141 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
Kingston is listed with revenues of $1.5 billion for 1999.
2001 – Kingston is honored by Industry Week as a “Top 5 Global Manufacturing Company”.
2002
In January, Kingston makes Fortune’s list of the “Best Companies to Work For” for the fifth year in a row.
In July, Kingston launches a patented, industry-leading memory tester.
2003
In April, Kingston receives the “Diverse Supplier Award for Best Overall Performance”from Dell.
In June, Kingston is honored for “Excellence in Fairness”by the Great Place to Work Institute.
In October, Kingston launches its “Green Initiative” for module manufacturing.
Forbes ranks Kingston number 63 in its list of the best companies to work for, marking the fifth year in a row in the top 100.
2004
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number-one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market.
In August, Kingston increases Flash memory cards’ warranty to “lifetime”.
Forbes ranks Kingston number 178 in the top private companies.
2005
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for a second consecutive year.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 140 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
In July, Kingston is granted a US patent on a dynamic burn-in tester for server memory.
In September, Kingston opens the world’s largest memory module manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China.
2006
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for a third consecutive year.
DRAMeXchange ranks Kingston as the number 1 third-party DRAM module house in the world.
In March, Kingston introduces the first fully secure, 100% privacy USB drive with 128-bit hardware-based encryption and, later in the year, 256-bit hardware encryption.
In April, Kingston launches fully-buffered DIMMs (FBDIMMs), breaking the 16GB barrier.
In September, Kingston receives Intel’s Outstanding Supplier Award for Exceptional Support, Quality and Timely Delivery of FB-DIMM Products.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 97 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
2007
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for a fourth consecutive year.
DRAMeXchange ranks Kingston as the number 1 third-party DRAM module house in the world.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 83 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
Inc.com ranks Kingston as the number 1 Fastest Growing Private Company By Revenue.
2008
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for a fifth consecutive year.
DRAMeXchange ranks Kingston as the number 1 third-party DRAM module house in the world.
Inc.com’s “Top 100 Inc. 5000 Companies” ranks Kingston 2nd in both Gross Dollars of Growth and Overall Revenue.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 79 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston as the number 1 USB drive manufacturer in the world.
2009
Kingston reports revenues of $4.0B for 2008. Volume increased 41% in memory units shipped from 2007.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for a sixth consecutive year.
Inc.com’s “Top 100 Inc. 5000 Companies” ranks Kingston 5th in Private Companies by Revenue.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 97 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”, and 1st in the computer hardware category.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston as the number 1 USB manufacturer in the world.
2010
Kingston reports revenues of $4.1B for 2009, the second highest in company history.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market with 40.3% market share, up from 32.8% in 2008 and 27.5% in 2007.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 77 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
Inc.com’s “Top 100 Inc. 5000 Companies” ranks Kingston 6th in Private Companies by Revenue.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston as the number 1 USB manufacturer in the world.
2011
Kingston reports revenues of $6.5B for 2010, the highest in company history.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market with 46% market share in 2010, up from 40%.
Kingston launches Wi-Drive Wireless storage products.
Forbes ranks Kingston as the 51st largest private company in the US, up from 77th.
Inc. ranks Kingston 4th by revenue in the top 100 companies and 1st in the computer hardware category.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston as the number 1 USB manufacturer in the world.
2012
Kingston celebrates 25 years in the memory business.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for the 9th consecutive year.
Kingston Celebrates 10 years of HyperX gaming memory.Kingston releases HyperX branded SSD drives.
Kingston releases the first Windows to Go USB drive.
Forbes lists Kingston as number 48 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston as the number 1 USB manufacturer in the world.
2013
Kingston ships its fastest, world’s largest-capacity USB 3.0 Flash Drive with DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0, available up to 1TB. Kingston launches the MobileLite Wireless reader line of storage products for smartphones and tablets.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number-one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for the 10th consecutive year.
Gartner Research ranks Kingston the no. 1 USB Flash drive manufacturer in the world for the 6th straight year.
Forbes lists Kingston in place 94 on its list of “The 500 Largest Private Companies in the US”.
2014
HyperX releases the FURY memory line for entry-level overclocking and gaming enthusiasts.
HyperX launches the maximum comfort, superior sound Cloud gaming headset.
iSuppli ranks Kingston as the world’s number one memory module manufacturer for the third-party memory market for the 11th consecutive year.
HyperX sets the overclocking world record mark at 4500MHz, the highest frequency in the world, using a 4GB HyperX DDR3 2933MHz module.
Kingston ships M.2 SATA SSDs for new notebook platforms, small-form factor devices and Z97 motherboards.
Kingston releases MobileLite Wireless G2, the second-generation media streamer for smartphones and tablets.”
*Information from Forbes.com and Kingston.com
**Video published on YouTube by “Kingston Technology“