Rohm Plans to Combine Irvine, San Jose Units

In a move to streamline its U.S. operations, Rohm Co. Ltd., a Japanese electronics firm, said Wednesday that it will reorganize three California subsidiaries into a single company known as Rohm Corp.

The move will combine the company’s existing Rohm Corp. unit in Irvine with its Exel Microelectronics Inc. and Rohm U.S.A. Inc. subsidiaries, both in San Jose. The Irvine operation employs 100 people.

The three units will remain autonomous, and no layoffs will result from the reorganization, said Chris Bailey, a Rohm spokesman. The companies make components for a variety of electronics manufacturers.

Under the realignment, the new Rohm Corp. will be solely owned by a new holding company, Rohm U.S.A., which also will control the Japanese parent’s existing interest in two publicly traded electronics firms, Exar Corp. and Xetel Corp., both of Austin, Tex.

The new Rohm Corp. will be headed by Kozo Sato, chairman of Rohm U.S.A., and managing director of international operations for Rohm Co. Ltd. Each of the new divisions will report to Sato and continue to be operated as independent divisions under the Rohm Corp. banner.