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5 Things You Didn't Know About Crucial
- Although Crucial's owner, Micron Technology's longtime CEO Steve Appleton, was killed in a tragic plane accident, the incident was not his first crash.
- When Steve Appleton was appointed CEO of Micron Technology in 1994, he was the third-youngest CEO in the Fortune 500.
- Steve Appleton started working for Micron in the company's "clean rooms" for less than $5 per hour before ultimately becoming CEO and Chairman.
- Micron investor J.R. Simplot was also known as "America's French Fry King" because he supplied McDonald's with more than 50 percent of its potatoes.
- Many of Micron's early investors became multimillionaires when the company grew. A large number of them also happen to be the largest landowners in Idaho.
How to Redeem a Coupon Code at Crucial.com
You can redeem a coupon for Crucial by clicking on the red button of the coupon and then clicking the Copy button for the Promo Code or copying down the number manually. If no Promo Code is present, simply move on.
When you're ready to shop at Crucial, go to the Crucial website, and click the Store button in the upper left of the screen. When you're in the Store section, find an item you want and click the Add to Cart button. A pop-up will appear asking if you want to check out or continue shopping. When you're done shopping and ready to check out, click on the Check Out Now button. On the following Check Out screen, Paste or enter the Promo Code into the box where it says "Enter Promo Code." Click Apply and it will be applied to your order.
Crucial Outlet/Clearance
While the Crucial.com site doesn't have a "Sale" section, you are sometimes able to purchase factory re-certified, solid-state drives from Crucial. These are usually limited to one per customer, have limited one-year warranties and are initialized and quality tested by the company. If they sell out, you can join Crucial's email list to be notified when they will next be on sale. The email list also gets you other exclusive offers from Crucial, so it's worth signing up.
Crucial Review
Crucial is one of the consumer brands of memory manufacturer giant Micron Technology. With over 30,000 employees and $16 billion in revenue, Micron is one of the largest producers of memory chips worldwide. Micron's Crucial division sells DRAM memory modules, solid state drives (SSDs), USB flash drives, upgrade tools and various computer components.
Micron Technology dates back to 1978 when it was founded in Boise, Idaho as a semiconductor design consultancy. After several rounds of investment, including from Idaho potato billionaire J.R. Simplot, the company went into the random access memory (RAM) production business, building several fabrication plants to produce its chips.
In 1994, longtime production manager Steve Appleton took over as CEO, President and Chairman from outgoing CEO and founder Joe Parkinson. In 1996, non-memory-producing parts of Micron were acquired by ZEOS International, a PC "clone" manufacturer, in a reverse takeover transaction. ZEOS was known for being the first computer manufacturer to offer toll-free 24/7 technical support and for offering nationwide overnight delivery of their products. The resulting company phased out the ZEOS name and became known as Micron Electronics
In 2002, Micron, along with four other memory manufacturers — Elpida, Samsung, Hynix and Infineon — were accused by the U.S. Justice Department, at the instigation of computer manufacturers such as Gateway and Dell, of fixing the prices of dynamic RAM (DRAM) memory chips. Of the five companies, Micron cooperated with investigators and was not fined.
In 2005, Micron formed a joint venture with Intel to manufacture NAND Flash memory chips.
In 2007, Micron COO Mark Durcan took over as President of the company, leaving Steve Appleton as the CEO and Chairman.
In 2008, Micron laid off about 15 percent of its workforce, due to the non-renewal of a key NAND memory supply contract. The company also made an investment in Taiwanese DRAM manufacturer Inotera Technologies worth about $400 million. In addition, the company created Aptina Imaging, a division that makes CMOS imaging sensors. A majority stake in this division was later sold to ON Semiconductor in 2014.
In 2009, Micron phased out 200mm wafer chip production operations, resulting in the layoff of 2,000 people. The company also acquired DisplayTech, an FLCOS microdisplay firm.
In 2010, Micron bought flash chip manufacturer Numonyx for $1.27 billion.In 2011, the company developed a second joint venture with Intel to make NAND Flash memory chips in Singapore.
In 2012, CEO and Chairman Steve Appleton, a small plane pilot, was tragically killed when he attempted to make an emergency landing of his experimental Lancair turboprop plane in Boise. Company President Mark Durcan took over as CEO.
Later the same month, Micron increased its investment in Taiwan-based Inotera to become the majority stakeholder in the company. At about this time, Micron announced it would expand its joint partnership with Intel and acquire the plant the two developed in Singapore, making it Micron's fourth facility there.
Later that year, Micron purchased former competitor Elpida Memory for $2.5 billion as well as the majority share of Rexchip Electronics. These two purchases gave Micron a 24 percent share of the memory chip market. At the end of 2012, Micron closed its plant — but not its lab — in Kiryat Gat, Isreal, laying off 1,300 workers.
Between 2013 and 2014, the company laid off an additional 1,500 employees, representing about five percent of its workforce. At the same time, revenue doubled year over year.
Because of the few number of players in the market, growth prospects look good for the future in DRAM. In this industry segment, Micron has only three serious competitors — Samsung, Toshiba and Hynix. While there are other names in memory sales, they are merely assemblers of memory modules, rather than manufacturers of chips, and thus, they are forced to use chips from one of the four big players, including Micron.
Because Micron does both the manufacturing and the assembly processes, it can supply finished modules at some of the lowest prices in the market. Micron also sells modules directly to computer manufacturers and thus has customers that it can rely on to buy huge quantities of its products. Rigorous quality control for these larger customers is also applied to modules Micron sells to consumers.
None of Micron's three large competitors sell directly to consumers, so additional margins are built into pricing from small assemblers of modules that compete with Crucial.
Sample Video:
This video documentation, Heartbeat" Computer Build, is about a custom case mod built by Crucial team member "BennyBoy." The mod actually features a beating "heart" that pumps water throughout the system for cooling.
Crucial Social Media Links
Crucial on Twitter—Crucial's official Twitter account features memes, joke posts, tips, mini-polls, retweets, contests, skills test links and employee spotlights.
Crucial on Facebook—Crucial's official Facebook page, with joke posts, promotions, tips, contests, items of interest, fan feedback, memes, reviews and company spotlights.
Crucial on Google+—Crucial's official Google+ account features posts documenting common computer issues and fixes, contests, items of interest, memes, polls and geek-of-the-month spotlights.
Crucial on YouTube—The Crucial YouTube channel is here, featuring videos of techniques, tips, celebrity and tech profiles, modification and installation details, performance tests, social commentary and trade show reports. You can watch Vanilla Ice show off a Crucial SSD drive along with his light up desk. Check out former Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno go to war with his computer and host a self-help group of hapless frustrated users before they got their Crucial upgrades. Alan Thicke gives some picks for Father's Day gifts, including — you guessed it — Crucial upgrades for Dad's computer. Other clips show how much of a speed boost Crucial components can offer you after installation.
Crucial on Pinterest—The official Pinterest page of Crucial features company culture spotlights, reviews, contests, giveaways, tips, modification photos and a brief history about the company.
Crucial Contact Info
Crucial/Micron Consumer Products Group
3475 E. Commercial Ct.
Meridian, ID 83642 USA
Email: Use form at http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-contact
Phone: 800-336-8915 or 208-363-5790
