A "side problem" in the manufacturing of the 1103

During production of the 1103, Intel ran into a problem. The ceramic package necessary for the memory chip had a small, but costly glitch. When the package was heated, it produced moisture which in turn seeped into the inside of the package ruining the memory chip.This was a big problem because the 1103 had accounted for 90% of Intel's $23 million in profits the year before, and Intel had already made thousands of packets. Somebody had to find a solution.
Craig Barrett decided to step in. His idea was to create a hole in the packets with a laser and then bake the water out. His method failed miserably as it ended up destroying most of the memory chips. After this devastation, Barrett chose to leave the company.
But, Intel was so impressed with his intuitiveness that they asked him to come back. When Craig began work again, the Japanese were seizing control of the memory chip industry and he decided something must be done, as the original problem still remained with the the packets as well. Barrett's solution was to copy the exact methods of the Japanese because they were so efficient and were obviously working well. The company rose to the top again and the problem with the 1103 packets was solved with the new methods of manufacturing.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/12/18/293148/index.htm