- 11 February 2005 -

Caracal for power SiC components

Biotech firm Caracal Inc has opened its its new semiconductor facility in Armstrong County. Completed in January 2005, the $3m manufacturing facility on a brownfield site in Ford City, PA has been created for Caracal, a semiconductor company, aiming to deliver ultra-fast and efficient diodes and transistors made of Silicon Carbide (SiC) for the power market.

Sources note Caracal will begin operating with "a handful of mostly high-tech employees," but forecasts a payroll of about 140 within three years. Development corporation officials emphasise that Caracal's jobs are substantial, with starting salaries in production ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 a year.

Founder Rajiv Enand, CEO, co-founded ServiceWare Inc, a provider of knowledge-powered applications for customer service and IT support. Mr. Enand was instrumental in growing the company from a start-up in his partner’s basement to one of the world's leading providers of knowledge based software and content to the customer support market.

Enand's partner, Dr Olle Kordina, VP, is one of the leading SiC materials scientists. With over 100 publications and 20 patents, Dr Kordina has pioneered many of the SiC growth techniques used in the industry today. After completing his PhD from Linkoping University in Sweden in 1994, he worked at many SiC materials companies.

Web: http://www.caracalsemi.com