The semiconductor industry in Europe was still to fully mature when, back in 1980, Fujitsu Limited decided to establish a European subsidiary. “Fujitsu Mikroelektronik GmbH” (FMG) was born in Frankfurt to provide Europe with Fujitsu's traditional strengths in ASICs and memory.

During the early 80’s, local sales offices were founded in Munich, Maidenhead near London, Paris and Milan. To support the growing demand for ASIC products, design centers were established in Frankfurt (1984) and Munich (1987).

During the 90’s European demand for Japanese semiconductor technology boomed. FMG rode the crest of this wave and extended the product range to include not only traditional ASIC and memory devices but also microcontrollers/graphic display controllers, MPEG decoders and mixed signal products. A Mixed Signal Design Center was set up in Maidenhead in 1993 while Frankfurt-based MPEG and Wireless Design Center followed in 1993 and 1996 respectively.

A massive investment and clear commitment to the automotive industry was the establishment of the European Microcontroller Design Center in Langen in 1997. The company was re-named Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe in 1999 to better reflect the territory supported by the company.

With the bursting of the dot com bubble in 2001 and subsequent turbulence in the memory market, Fujitsu was forced to make fundamental changes to its sales and marketing strategy worldwide. The company de-emphasised its reliance on the memory and ASIC markets and concentrated on broadening its product portfolio. By 2005 when FME celebrated its 25th anniversary, the company was again on a growth path!

FME's most recent expansions include a dedicated Graphics Competence Centre in Munich (2006) and a software affiliate in Linz, Austria (2009); thus pushing forward chip and software development, e.g. for in-car entertainment and navigation applications.

Today, with 350 employees Europe-wide, FME looks forward to a healthy, challenging future with the goal to develop system solutions – semiconductors and software.