Duncan is an experienced technology executive with over 20 years in the RF and semiconductor space. He joined Marki Microwave in 2020, bringing with him a proven track record of defining and executing long-term strategies that result in sustainable revenue growth. Over the last three years, Duncan has overseen Marki Microwave’s sales and marketing organization as the company expanded its sales footprint beyond North America into Europe and Asia.
Duncan Pilgrim is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Marki Microwave.
IMS had a great turnout this year. Do you think Marki Microwave has solidified its position at well-known shows like this among its peers in the industry?
Marki had a great IMS 2023. We had a lot of fun with the theme this year and I think we really stood out. Christopher Marki and many Marki employees are avid musicians, so the rock theme resonated with them and was pretty vibrant compared to many others at the show.
What makes the Marki story so easy to promote is the fact that we are continually pushing technology boundaries, which means we always have something interesting to show our customers.
Marki has rapidly grown in the last number of years. What was the goal with this expansion?
Marki Microwave has been moving away from the mixer company moniker and we have been focused on building out the block diagram. We have added new product categories, as well as depth to existing categories. Our goal is to be our customers’ single source for all their small signal RF and sub-terahertz components.
You mentioned at IMS that Marki has been investing in diversifying your product portfolio. Are there any specific new products that you’re most excited about?
We are most excited about the new MMIC filter products [in development] — they really are game changers when you look at the form factors, repeatability and scalability they enable.
But the big step forward is with our new Filter Prodigy Tool that will launch online later this year. It will enable customers to input their requirements into the tool, instantly provide s-parameters that have been fully 3D simulated and put them into their system simulator. This allows for design iteration in real time. Due to the amazing correlation that we get with MMIC filters between simulation and the physical filter design, we think this will change the way people design their systems.
Two other key areas [for us]: Amplifiers, where our proven design team is accelerating the rollout of LNA’s, LO drivers and baseband amplifiers. And broadband BALUNS; the next generation data converters are starting to ramp, and we have BALUNS that will support DC to 32 GHz and maintain excellent phase and amplitude balance across that entire range.
With five core markets — test and measurement, aerospace and defense, research labs, space, and quantum computing — how has Marki maintained a presence and deep knowledge base in all of these?
There are many commonalities to these markets. They all demand broadband, high-performance, high-reliability products, have a long time to revenue, low to medium volume, and long product lifecycles. This means that a key aspect of our success is patience — we need to have a long-term technology vision and financial outlook. Test and measurement has a unique place in the market as it provides a crystal ball into the future — it is typically at least two years ahead of any major technology trend, and drives performance as it sets those testing parameters. Marki leverages this foresight and many of the developments in our other markets of A&D and space. The research lab market is an extension of our T&M products and is primarily supported by our connectorized product line. The quantum computing market is looking for extremely linear products, which is the core to many of our products.
Hybrid companies or MMIC companies — How did Marki manage to be successful in both?
We focus on broadband (multi-octave) products from DC to sub-terahertz frequencies. To do that you need both capabilities. The reason that we can be successful in both is that our history and heritage is in hybrid design. The skill set, manufacturing and design know-how take years or even decades to develop. When Christopher Marki joined in 2007, he layered in the MMIC design capability integrating this into our hybrid products and developing traditional surface mount and die products. If an MMIC component company tried to develop hybrid capabilities I think the time to revenue would be too challenging [especially if they were public].
RF is a rather specialized area of expertise. How do you stay technically competitive?
RF has seen significant consolidation over the past few years, which has created some very large suppliers. For many, especially the smaller players in the consumer space, this makes winning in RF a lot more challenging. We see this as a major opportunity to offer differentiated support and products to low and medium-volume markets. We are also a private company, which allows us to make long-term strategic investments. This is critical in the markets and with the customers we support as their products all have a long-time to revenue. Finally, it's not just about the performance of the product, but also ease of use. We don’t just design the product to a datasheet; we work with our customers [to ensure their specific application needs are met].
Economic uncertainty, skyrocketing costs, shortages of parts and labor… Everyone feels it. Is your executive team having to get creative to face these issues?
Over the last four years, Marki has made major investments in infrastructure and people. In 2020 we moved to a larger facility that allowed us to reconfigure our manufacturing lines to be more efficient. We increased automation and cross-trained and upskilled our production team. This was combined with a significant investment in raw materials during the early stages of the pandemic. A colleague of mine always likes to say, “Never waste a good crisis.” While the industry and Marki have seen some challenging times over the past three years, through [these] investments we believe Marki has become a stronger organization.
How can customers reach you?
Our responsive technical support team will answer questions and take technical data for you. They can be reached at support@markimicrowave.com. Our global sales team can be contacted at sales@markimicrowave.com or I can be reached at duncan.pilgrim@markimicrowave.com.
