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Technology Stocks : THREE FIVE SYSTEM (TFS) - up from here? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dfloydr who wrote (872)	1/26/1998 4:59:00 PM
From: Jim Armstrong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3247

The US Display Consortium 206.251.22.191 was set up as a sort of central focus for government funding of collaborative industry programs generally having to do with strengthing of the US display manufacturing infrastructure (tools, processes, equipment, etc.). The original intent was to get the US display industry in a position to compete successfully with the Japanese. The big driver was the LCD display market, though some of the activites did relate to other technologies (e.g., high-voltage drivers for EL and gas discharge technologies, and high-resolution FED phototooling). I think the general consensus is that the virtual impossibility of matching the enormous Asian government and corporate investments in the technology compromised the competitive parity objective. However, it did strengthen several US suppliers (OIS comes to mind) enough to compete in niche markets (medical, aerospace, etc.). Some other projects funded include the development of color filter mosaics for LCDs, cleaning processes and equipment, and so on. Almost all of the projects have to do with manufacturing display devices. USDC does not develop standards. Many of the big display developers and manufacturers do participate to keep track of what's going on at the leading edge of US display manufacturing technology. Also, the projects funded are carried out by one or more of the USDC members, which means the beta test sites get the first look at the newest and best. They get a great discount on equipment if they want to buy it at the end of the program. In any case, the results are available to members of the consortium. USDC is federally funded, and decreasing government interest in funding this infrastructure stuff is beginning to take its toll with smaller budgets. Duzzat help? JimA