U.S.-based Planar Systems' proprietary thin film electroluminescent display technology is to be incorporated in industrial products manufactured by Hong Kong company Jetronic Technology for the domestic China market.
According to Doug Barnes, general manager and vice president of Planar's industrial business unit, Planar saw an 11% growth in EL sales over the last year, which has been driven by OEMs needing even lower cold temperature performance and the crisp image presentation enabled by Planar's EL technology. He added that new demand continues to emerge for communication, petro-chemical, and test and measurement equipment that can reliably perform in severe temperature conditions and that offers multi-person, off-axis viewing in industrial environments.
Jetronic Technology, a manufacturer and a value-added electronics devices distributor based in Hong Kong, plans to incorporate the Planar TFEL display into industrial products sold in China. The addition of Jetronic as a Planar partner will increase Planar's sales coverage within the China market.
Thomas Wong, the president of Jetronic Technology, said that they needed lower cost products to penetrate traditional LCD territory and added that Planar has helped educate their designers on the best way to integrate EL into their products.