 May 2006 -- Forte Design Systems is an EDA (electronic design automation) company that provides automated systems to designers of complex chips for creating production-ready designs with more functionality, performance and efficiency.
Opportunities in Japan
Forte Design Systems sees semiconductor companies in Japan increasingly taking a leadership position in emerging technologies and in the chip design process. Japanese companies have also made significant efforts to promote high-level design flows, languages such as SystemC, and better chip design standards and practices. "These characteristics make Japan a critically important market for firms such as ours that provide electronic design automation technology,” said Leslie Landers, vice president of worldwide sales at Forte Design Systems.
Market Entry
When establishing its kabushiki kaisha (KK), Forte Design Systems received information from JETRO on various aspects of establishing the business in Japan, such as cost estimates and the selection of office location. Landers also gained insight from a JETRO seminar in 2004 about changes in the U.S.-Japan tax treaty. "While we also used legal counsel to guide us through many of the particulars,” said Landers, "JETRO's comments provided a valuable practical perspective.”
Results and Outlook
Since establishing their Japan office in April 2004, Forte Design System's business has continued to grow. Today, the company's Japanese customers include Canon, OKI, Ricoh, Sanyo, Sony, and Toshiba among others.
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