Research Frontiers Presents SPD Inc. With Award for Being the First Company in the World to Mass-Produce SPD Light-Control Technology
WOODBURY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2002--Research Frontiers Incorporated (Nasdaq:REFR - News), the developer and licensor of SPD light-control technology, is pleased to announce that it has presented SPD Inc. with the "First-to-Market" award for selling commercial quantities of SPD film.
This previously-established award program formally acknowledges Research Frontiers' licensees that are the first to sell in commercial quantities three categories of SPD-Smart(TM) products: SPD emulsion, film and end-products. SPD Inc.'s parent company, Hankuk Glass Industries Inc. (KSC:02000.KS), is Korea's largest glass manufacturer and is a licensee of Research Frontiers. The thin, flexible SPD film regulates the amount of light passing through normally clear glass or plastic, allowing users to control light and glare instantly and precisely.
SPD Inc. qualified for the SPD film component of the program by having produced in their new factory tens of thousands of square feet of SPD film for sales to customers for use in a variety of SPD-Smart end-products. SPD Inc. also reports that film production over the next few months is scheduled to be over 20,000 square feet per month and should increase rapidly thereafter.
In addition to SPD film produced at its new factory in Incheon, Korea, SPD Inc. is now producing SPD-Smart end-products including insulating glass units (IGUs), the standard in residential windows. Production of SPD-Smart products is supported by other factories in the Hankuk Glass family of companies. The Hankuk Processed Glass factory in Incheon can produce over 450,000 square feet of IGUs/month. Hankuk Sekurit's factory in Incheon and two other locations can supply autoglass for approximately 3 million cars per year and is a 50/50 joint venture with Saint-Gobain, the world's largest glass manufacturer.
Joseph Harary, President of Research Frontiers, was at SPD Inc.'s new factory in Incheon, Korea this week to present the award. He noted: "This marks a significant milestone in the history of SPD technology. We are happy to award SPD Inc. for the years of groundbreaking work that led to the mass-commercialization of SPD film. Having toured the facilities here in Korea, I am also very excited about the capabilities of SPD Inc. and its supporting companies to rapidly expand to meet the growing demand for SPD-Smart products."
B.C. Lee, President of SPD Inc., accepted the award on behalf of SPD Inc. and its employees. He remarked: "A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into the mass-production of SPD film and SPD-Smart glass, and we are pleased to be the first company in the world to have achieved this historic milestone. Since production was announced in late January 2002, the number of inquiries and orders have been increasing exponentially, and we have expanded our production and marketing personnel to meet the rapidly accelerating demand."
SPD Inc. will receive warrants to purchase up to 10,000 shares of common stock of Research Frontiers and, in addition, Research Frontiers will make a $10,000 donation to SPD Inc.'s designated charity.
A detailed presentation about SPD Inc.'s factory and activities of Research Frontiers' other licensees will be given at Research Frontiers' upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 13, and will also be subsequently available on Research Frontiers' website: (http://www.refr-spd.com)
About SPD Inc.
SPD Inc.'s parent company, Hankuk Glass Industries Inc. (KSC:02000.KS), is Korea's largest glass manufacturer and is a licensee of Research Frontiers Incorporated (Nasdaq:REFR - News). SPD Inc. was formed as a separate subsidiary of Hankuk Glass Industries devoted exclusively to the production and sale of SPD film and end-products. To learn more about SPD light control film and end-products offered by SPD Inc., please visit their website at spdi.co.kr or contact Mr. B.C. Lee at SPD Inc. by telephone from the U.S. at 011 82 32 819 4671 or by email (bclee@spdi.co.kr).
About SPD Technology and Research Frontiers Incorporated
Research Frontiers is a technological leader in the development and licensing of suspended particle devices (SPDs) - electrically operated light-control devices using proprietary particle suspensions and films. SPD technology allows users to instantly and precisely control how clear or dark glass or plastic is, and to adjust its light transmission by either turning a knob to control the applied voltage or having the device automatically adjust itself by means of a photocell or other sensing or control device. This is made possible by a thin flexible film which uses SPD light-control technology invented by Research Frontiers.
SPD technology has many applications, including SPD-SmartTM windows and sunshades for homes and buildings, skylights and interior partitions. A smart window product using SPD film provides relief from glare or heat without blocking one's view, while also enabling privacy whenever desired, protection from UV damage, promotion of energy conservation, and other benefits. In automotive vehicles, SPD-SmartTM products can include windows, sunroofs, sunvisors, sunshades, rear-view mirrors, instrument panels and navigation systems. In aircraft, replacing existing window shades with SPD film can improve passenger satisfaction and comfort, while also reducing fuel consumption, maintenance, downtime and cost of operation. SPD-SmartTM eyewear products - sunglasses, sport goggles such as ski goggles, and visors - will continuously and instantly control glare to the degree needed.
In an SPD display, electronic drivers will selectively "address" (open and close) tiny segments of the SPD film. SPDs may be used to make brighter, easier-to-read screens in products such as laptop computers, cell phones, and handheld devices such as PDAs - personal digital assistants. In advertising, promotion, and retail sales environments, SPD displays offer display advertising advantages, bringing large, thin, flexible yet changeable displays to stores, store windows, point-of-purchase displays, billboards, truck sidings, road signs, and other signage applications.
SPD technology is covered by approximately 365 patents and patent applications held by Research Frontiers worldwide. As part of a global infrastructure, Research Frontiers has licensed the following fifteen companies to use its patented SPD light-control technology in emulsions, film, or end-products: AP Technoglass; Avery Dennison Corporation; BOS GmbH & Co. KG, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Incorporated; Film Technologies International, Inc.; General Electric Company; Glaverbel, SA; Global Mirror GmbH & Co. KG (Lang-Mekra); Hankuk Glass Industries Inc.; Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.; InspecTech Aero Service, Inc.; Isoclima S.p.A.; N.V. Bekaert S.A.; Polaroid Corporation; and ThermoView Industries, Inc. Licensees of Research Frontiers who incorporate SPD technology into end products will pay Research Frontiers a royalty of 5-10% of net sales of licensed products under license agreements currently in effect. Additional information about Research Frontiers and its licensees can be found on the Internet at refr-spd.com. Research Frontiers' common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "REFR." |
