OSRAM Opto Semiconductors and Three-Five Systems Announce OLED Display Agreement
Tuesday December 17, 9:01 am ET
Companies Collaborate in Marketing and Design to Deliver OLED Display Products
TEMPE, Ariz., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Osram, one of the world's largest lamp manufacturers, and Three-Five Systems, Inc. (NYSE: TFS - News), a leading provider of liquid crystal and microdisplay products, today announced that Three-Five Systems will gain the ability to market OSRAM's OLED display products through its current market channels. Three-Five Systems will also provide design-engineering services to support the integration of OSRAM's technology into customer products. OSRAM will maintain its independent marketing, sales and integration channels.
Joseph Carr, President & CEO of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc., said, "We are pleased to be teaming up with Three-Five Systems, a recognized leader in servicing a variety of OEM display markets. We plan to drive our new OLED technologies into growing markets that include wireless handsets, industrial controls, medical and various handheld devices. Three-Five has proven its ability to penetrate those markets successfully with its LCD technologies and we look forward to having them as one of our display integration customers."
The agreement covers a spectrum of current OLED display technologies as well as product configurations. Included in the arrangement are plans to market standard OLED display products manufactured by OSRAM in a fully-qualified ISO environment, up to and including full custom OLED modules designed by Three-Five's engineering team.
Three-Five's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jack L. Saltich commented, "We view our agreement with OSRAM as a continuing step in a long-term relationship that will benefit each of our companies on several fronts. While a leader in providing LED solutions, OSRAM has made great strides in bringing OLEDs to the market. Partnering with them will provide Three-Five's customers with immediate access to passive OLED technologies and future technologies as they become available, for which market demand is beginning to grow. Through this relationship we will also work closely with OSRAM to incorporate new technologies into the market stream in the future. We will use the design expertise that has become our hallmark to help our customers quickly and efficiently integrate these new technologies into their specific products."
Polymer OLED technology uses advanced polymer materials to produce an exceptionally bright, high-contrast, emissive display with a superior viewing angle. Polymer OLED technology delivers these attributes in a low-cost, low profile display that is particularly well-suited for incorporation into handheld devices such as wireless handsets, pocket personal computers and PDAs. Display Search's recent report, Alternative Display Technology Report 2002: OLED Technology, states that OLED revenues are expected to rise from $85 million in 2002 to $3.1 billion by 2007. In addition to revenue, OLED units are forecasted to jump from 6.8 million units in 2002 to 180 million in 2007.
OSRAM was granted a license from Cambridge Display Technology in 2001 to manufacture and sell polymer light emitting displays. OSRAM currently manufactures OLED displays in evaluation quantities at its Penang, Malaysia facility. OLED displays are currently available in evaluation quantities, and volume production is expected to commence 2nd quarter of 2003. Three-Five Systems is currently marketing the OSRAM OLED technology to its customers worldwide.
About Osram Opto Semiconductors
Osram GmbH, Munich is one of the world's three largest lamp manufacturers. Its wholly owned subsidiary Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Regensburg, offers a range of solutions based on semiconductor technology for lighting, sensor and visualization applications. It operates facilities in Regensburg (Germany), San Jose (USA) and Penang (Malaysia). Further information is available at www.osram-os.com .
About Three-Five Systems, Inc.®
Three-Five Systems, Inc. is a worldwide supplier and recognized leader in providing display and integrated system solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company offers display products and systems as well as engineering and manufacturing services in support of its broad range of display technologies, which include STN, CSTN, OLED, TFT, CRT, flat panel, and liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) microdisplays. Examples of applications for Three-Five's products and services include handheld devices, test and measurement devices, medical instrumentation, customized CRT and flat panel monitors, wearable computers, high definition televisions, and multimedia projectors. The company drives new product development activities using internal capabilities, leveraging industry partnerships, and through its David R. Buchanan LCD laboratory, which is solely dedicated to the development of LCoS microdisplays. The company's Web site is located at www.threefive.com .
Three-Five Systems, Inc., the Three-Five Systems' logo, LCoS, and Brillian, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Three-Five Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Certain statements contained in this document may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and Three-Five Systems intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe- harbor created thereby. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expectation of a long-term relationship with Osram, the expectations regarding usage of polymer OLEDs in products, the technical capabilities of polymer OLEDs, the market forecast numbers for OLEDs, and the expectations regarding volume manufacturing. The companies caution that these statements are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (a) changes in markets or demand for OLEDs, (b) the failure of OLEDs to deliver acceptable performance and /or price to potential OEM customers, and (c) other risks as identified from time to time in Three-Five Systems' SEC reports, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8- K, and Annual Reports on Form 10-K.
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Source: Three-Five Systems, Inc. |
