FOSTER CITY, Calif. and HSINCHU, Taiwan, Feb. 8 -- RiteKom Photonics Corp., provider of optical networking components, has opened a US office in Foster City, Calif., as the "launching pad" for its international business plans, the company said. "We see a huge shift in the future manufacturing of optical components for the global marketplace," said Kao Feng Tsai, president and CEO. "The economic downturn in the telecommunications market, combined with the pressure on system makers to lower the cost of their products and the emergence of industrywide standard specifications, makes this industry ripe for the mass-production of components. Just as the semiconductor, computer and computer peripheral industries moved manufacturing to Taiwan, so will optical components." RiteKom has established ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facilities, and its initial products include optical fiber, tight buffer fiber cable for indoor LAN environments, and a variety of loose-tube fiber cable for outdoor environments. David Yen, director of marketing and international sales, will develop operations within the US market and establish sales and marketing channels for existing product lines.