We Operate on the Flip Side of the Semiconductor Industry

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Vaishali Umredkar: Rochester is exhibiting at electronica India for the first time. What brought you to Bengaluru this year?

Ashish Dongre: We are very excited to be exhibiting here for the first time. Bengaluru is the silicon hub of India and brings together the largest semiconductor footfall in the country. Historically, Indian customers had limited information about Rochester. We operate on what we call the “flip side” of the semiconductor industry—a space traditional customers are often not fully aware of. This exhibition gives us the platform to introduce our value proposition directly to the market.

Vaishali Umredkar: What does operating on the “flip side” mean, and what core opportunities are you targeting in India?

Ashish Dongre: Our tagline reflects our core mission: we are The Semiconductor Lifecycle Solution®. We keep legacy product designs rolling out for years, as long as the customer needs them in the market. When a device hits End-of-Life or becomes obsolete, it impacts a company’s productivity and profitability.

Rochester supports long-lifecycle and mission-critical applications across sectors such as aerospace, defence, medical and industrial. As an original manufacturer stocking distributor, we provide a continuous source of 100% authorised, traceable and guaranteed active and end-of-life semiconductors directly supported by our OCM partners.

Vaishali Umredkar: How is Rochester leveraging Artificial Intelligence within its operations?

Ashish Dongre: We use AI in some of our internal workflows to improve efficiency and help our teams analyse information more effectively. It supports our day-to-day work, particularly around data and lifecycle management, while final decisions still rely on our people and technical expertise.

We also have Captain Rochester, our AI service assistant on the Rochester website, which helps answer customer questions and direct them to relevant information.

Vaishali Umredkar: How do you structure your distribution strategy in India compared to traditional distributors?

Ashish Dongre: When production lines run smoothly, traditional channels handle distribution. But when customers face supply chain distress, we provide a 100% authorised, traceable and guaranteed source of supply. Our experience supporting global OEMs has demonstrated the value Rochester can provide when support from manufacturers or traditional distribution channels becomes limited.

Vaishali Umredkar: What is Rochester’s long-term strategy for the Indian market?

Ashish Dongre: Since I joined last year, we have been expanding our local presence and growing our customer base in India through direct support and our partnership with Tecnomic Components. Our long-term focus is to strengthen these relationships, stay closer to customers in the market, and continue supporting their semiconductor lifecycle and supply needs as the business grows.

Rochester Electronics is the world’s largest continuous source of semiconductors and is 100% authorised by over 70 leading semiconductor manufacturers.