NEW BACKLIGHTING
COMPANY OFFERS
ADVANCED MICROLENS™ TECHNOLOGY WITH
INCREASED PRODUCTION ECONOMIES
Cleveland, OH, October 18, 2000 –
Global Lighting Technologies, a fully integrated opto-electronics
company, has been formed combining U.S. MicroLens™ technology
and Far East production facilities to produce high-volume lighting
systems for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used in electronics
instruments of all kinds.
The new company will combine the SolidState™
lighting division of Lumitex, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio, with production
facilities at Shinny Electronic Technology Corp., Shanghai, China,
Shinny Plastics, Suzhou, China, and a new production facility
to be built in Taipei, Taiwan.
"With the acquisition of Lumitex's SolidState™
division, Global Lighting will produce the most efficient backlights
in the world for LCD displays in cell phones, PDAs, and other
small hand-held devices," Mang-Shiang Lee, Chairman of Global
Lighting commented. "The combination of SolidState and our two
manufacturing plants in China creates a company that already has
a track record of service and growth with high-volume electronics
customers. By extending the proprietary MicroLens™ technology
into larger sizes, the new factory in Taiwan will produce backlights
for the expanding Asian LCD market."
"Proprietary MicroLens™ LCD backlights
are typically chosen for their exceptional power efficiency and
uniformity," commented Jeff Parker, CEO of Global Lighting. "By
increasing our global presence and leveraging our technology,
we can expand into large, growing markets such as laptop computers
and desktop monitor displays. By integrating our Far East cost
base with our U.S. design center, we will be among the most cost-efficient
producers of illumination for liquid crystal displays."
MicroLens™ technology incorporates
hundreds of thousands of miniature reflective surfaces in each
LCD backlight. All variables of MicroLens™ surfaces are precisely
controlled to very tight tolerances to extract light uniformly,
consistently, and more efficiently than any other technology available
today. The new company will have its R&D, engineering and sales
offices in Cleveland, Ohio. Current manufacturing operations are
in Shanghai and Suzhou, China. A new manufacturing plant in Taipei,
Taiwan, is under construction and is scheduled to open in early
2001. This new facility will occupy over 200,000 square feet,
with additional land available for expansion. Manufacturing will
include Class 10,000 clean rooms to ensure that the highest quality
standards are met.
Global Lighting holds 19 lighting technology
patents and has 18 additional patents pending, ensuring its position
as a world leader in high efficiency backlighting. The management
group includes a world-class team of 25 engineers with specific
expertise in opto-electronics, and a - highly trained direct sales
force with a world-wide network of representatives who are dedicated
to delivering prompt and effective customer service and support.
Lumitex will continue developing and marketing
its fiber optic backlighting technology for lower volume electronics
applications from its plants in Cleveland and Irvine, California.
"Our future development will focus on new forms of light delivery
for surgical instruments," added Peter Broer, CEO of Lumitex.
"We are applying Fiber Optic, SolidState‰ and MicroLens‰ technologies
to improve visibility in minimally invasive, direct-view surgery,"
Broer said.
For more information, contact Global Lighting
Technologies, Inc., 55 Andrews Circle, Brecksville, OH 44141.
Tel: 440-922-4584; Toll-Free: 866-922-4584. Fax: 440-922-4585.
e-mail: info@glthome.com; web: www.glthome.com.
