LOM’s Joint Venture Offers World Class Capabilities in Touch Panels
Touch panels have been added to LITEONMOBILE’s service portfolio. The recently formed joint venture formed by LOM and Young Fast Optoelectronic is now ready meet the continuously growing demand for touch panels.
Last year the use of touch panels in mobile phones increased by 28% according to international research company Canalys. The company also estimates that touch screens were featured in almost 60% of smart phones in Q1 2010, compared with 34.4% in Q1 2009. At the same time Strategy Analytics estimates that the smart phone market has grown 43% compared with Q2 2009. Smart phones account for about 19% of the total market.
LITEONMOBILE established the Business Creation Unit (BCU) for touch panels in March 2010. A few months later, in June, the joint venture Lite-On Young Fast Pte. Ltd. was formed. LOM is the key driver in this joint venture with its 65% share.
– We are able to offer vertically integrated services to our customers. With our own R&D team we are able to think beyond the standards and develop more challenging solutions. One of our advances is the integration of touch panel with A-cover, we can integrate the touch panel and the cover by using adhesive, glue or lamination process, says Kerwin Yen, Director, Touch Panel BCU.
The production facilities for touch panels are in Huizhou, Southern China. Production will start up during Q4 and plan is to expand capacity on a quarterly basis in 2011-2012. At the end of 2011 capacity will be 3.5 million resistive panels per month and 2.5 million capacitive panels per month. Huizhou’s manufacturing site will employ about 2,000 persons in 2012.
– We can also produce touch panels with a PET or glass sensor. One glass solution is under development and will be available later. Our strength is that we can design and produce touch panels with different materials, says Kerwin Yen.
In addition to extensive support of the R&D team, the joint venture is prepared to support the customers in the conception phase and in business development.
– We always follow the most advance technology and develop it further, if needed. Our customers can always be sure that we have the latest and smartest technology available, Kerwin Yen sums up.