From Casting Chess Pieces to Becoming a Global Heatsink Manufacturer
2024 is a milestone for Radian Thermal Heatsinks as we celebrate our 50-year anniversary.
The story began in 1974 in San Jose, California, when Bruce Truesdell, a chess hobbyist started making and selling metal chess pieces from investment casting. As his hobby blossomed into a business, Intricast Company was incorporated and moved on Laurelwood Road in Santa Clara, California.
A few years later, Gerry McIntyre acquired Intricast, and that event proved to be a defining moment. With a strong background in Engineering, Gerry had a vision of the company he wanted Intricast to become, with more offerings of diverse casting services to various industries. The acquisition of Intricast thus laid the foundation for Radian Thermal Products. Intricast started producing custom electronics components using investment casting and the company rapidly expanded.
In 1990, Intricast moved into a larger facility of 35,000 sq. ft on Walsh Avenue in Santa Clara, CA to accommodate its expanding operations. The building on Walsh Avenue remains today the headquarters of Radian Thermal Products.
As a casting company, Intricast had already started producing casted heatsinks, particularly elliptical fin heatsinks for major Silicon Valley companies such as IBM and Sun Microsystems. The transformation into a global manufacturer of custom heatsinks had begun.
The Heatsink Manufacturing Division
In 1993, Intricast developed its elliptical standard heatsink line as its activities had diversified. Taking advantage of its expertise in high-quality precision casting, the company had launched itself further into the manufacture of heatsinks. Intricast developed its Parametric Heatsink Calculator software based on extensive empirical and CFD Simulation data, which allowed the design of heatsinks at a much faster pace than companies using traditional CFD tools.
The turning point in the company’s history happened in 1995, when Intricast launched its dedicated heatsink division with the objective of gaining a decisive foothold in the industry. It expanded its line of products to machined and extruded heatsinks in addition to improving its manufacturing capabilities in Asia to manufacture forged, skived, and stacked fin heatsinks.
In 1998, Mong Hu joined the company to lead operations for Investment Casting and CNC Machining. Mong was subsequently promoted to President of Intricast in 2008 while Gerry remained CEO and Chairman of the Board.
In 2000, Intricast established its subsidiary in Taiwan and bolstered its local USA operations with Rapid Prototyping services. Now well a recognized heatsink manufacturer, the Radian Heatsinks division was launched in 2001 to separate Heatsinks products from the traditional casting products.
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