Semitool exec focuses on Asia

Larry Murphy is sort of the Will Rogers of the computer chip industry: He's never met a job he didn't like.

Murphy, president and chief operating officer of Semitool Inc., has been in town just under a year and wonders what took him so long.

"Before I got here, I had been to 47 states," he said. "But the first time I ever set foot in Montana was for my job interview. I sure wish I'd come sooner."

Murphy succeeded Semitool founder Ray Thompson as president. Thompson is now chairman and chief executive officer.

Semitool makes and markets the equipment used by the semiconductor industry to manufacture computer chips. It is a publicly traded U.S. company headquartered in Kalispell.

In April 2004, Murphy left the presidency of Tosoh SMD Inc. to come to Semitool, first as its executive vice president and today as its president. It's a job that's had him on the road two-thirds of his first year.

"I've been working on growing our Asian markets," he said. "People buy from who they know, so it's all about face time and trust. Currently Semitool's targeted markets are Taiwan, China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia."

Semitool does almost $200 million annually in sales. Twenty-five percent of those sales are in the United States, 35 percent in Europe and 40 percent in Asia.

"Asia should be two-thirds of our sales," he said. "Because two out of every three dollars spent on buying the type of equipment we sell is spent in Asia."

At a time when more products are coming into the United States than going out, Semitool exports 75 percent of what it manufactures.

Murphy described his relationship with Thompson as a study in synergy - the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

"I guess you can say we interact as partners in the business," Murphy said. "Ray just continues to create opportunities for me. Our relationship - and the business - only gets better over time."

Thompson agreed.

"Larry's gifts lie in a fundamental management style. In people things," Thompson said. "My gifts are in ideas and equipment things. I might visualize a solution to a customer's problems, but Larry's the one who implements it and brings that solution to the marketplace.

"I'm a specialist in what I do and to be successful for the company, I'm always going to need someone who does what I don't do. And Larry's that person. Man, I love that."

One element of the Semitool philosophy that impresses Murphy is the company's insistence on being an industry leader in product innovation. Currently it holds 300 patents, with 190 patents pending.

"In this industry, if you're not coming out with new products all the time, you're dead," Murphy said. "This company is not afraid to take anything on. I thought I was innovative until I saw what innovative really was."

Murphy said the quality of Semitool's 1,000-employee work force is first-rate and that this excellence helps the company compete effectively on the international scene.

"The people who work and live here want to work and live here," he said. "In terms of recruiting employees, we're an attractive alternative to the Silicon Valley scene.

"This is a very volatile industry which ebbs and flows with industry growth cycles. This [volatility] can make it difficult locally. What we try and do is to trail the market in our hires until we know that the market isn't experiencing a bubble - that the growth is real and stable."

The road leading Murphy to Semitool started back at Michigan State University in the late 1970s when, halfway through a pre-med program, Murphy decided he didn't really want to be a physician.

"I'd had it with school," he said. "So I went to my adviser and asked him what undergraduate science degree would make me the most money in the least amount of time and he said to get a B.S. in geophysics.

"My first job was with Texaco, and there I was this young kid making recommendations to this huge oil company about what piece of property to buy and where to drill. And I wanted to say, 'Doesn't anyone here need to check my work? I mean, I'm only 23 years old.'"

But soon enough Murphy wanted more than geophysics. Believing he was overspecialized, he earned an MBA from Northwestern University in 1987 and changed jobs.

"I went with a company back home in Niles, Michigan, that made electronic materials," he said. "I told them I wanted to be in marketing and sales. I knew absolutely nothing about marketing and sales at that time, but it seemed like a good idea."

After a few years, Murphy was recruited by Tosoh SMD Inc., a subsidiary of Tosoh Corporation, a Tokyo-based company which supplies semiconductor thin film materials.

Murphy was offered the position of product manager at the corporation's Ohio facility.

"The thing is, as a product manager, no one actually works for you, so in order to get people to do what you ask them to do, you need to develop good people skills. I loved it," he said.

He would have remained in that position if Tosoh hadn't made him an offer he couldn't refuse: They told him he had no choice about being promoted to sales manager.

Soon he was marketing Tosoh around the world, especially in Asia.

"Relationships are important in the U.S.," he said. "But they're more important in Asia."

Murphy was soon bumped up to vice president of operations. He didn't think he was ready for that job, either.

"But then I developed skills in operations and I was learning the business from both sides of the fence," he said.

Eventually Murphy became chief executive officer and president of Tosoh and three years later he moved on.

"I left after three years of record profits and record sales," he said. "I wouldn't have left, though, unless the company was doing great because I wanted to secure the future of the other employees. I mean, these were my friends."

Since arriving in Kalispell, Murphy has discovered that "Montana people are the friendliest people in the country. They actually take the time to talk with you."

Murphy and his wife, Connie, have two children. Murphy has competed in two marathons and is open to running a third. He is currently contemplating whether to learn snowboarding this winter.

Reporter George Kingson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at gkingson@dailyinterlake.com