Planar Systems and DENSO Corporation Announce Agreement
20 January 1999
Planar Systems and DENSO Corporation Announce Agreement On Technology Licensing
BEAVERTON, Ore.--Jan. 20, 1999--Planar Systems, Inc. , North America's largest flat-panel display manufacturer, today announced that the company will share electroluminescent (EL) display patents and manufacturing know-how with DENSO CORPORATION, Japan's largest supplier of automotive parts and systems, under a royalty-bearing agreement."Over the last several years, DENSO has been developing the Japanese consumer transportation market with EL display technology, just as Planar has been developing the non-consumer vehicle market in Europe and North America," said Jim Hurd, president and chief executive officer of Planar Systems. "I expect that this relationship will accelerate the use of EL displays in all types of vehicle electronic systems worldwide."
Planar is the international market share leader in the sale of EL displays. The company has been producing commercial electroluminescent displays since 1983 and holds 58 patents in the technology.
Electroluminescent flat-panel displays are known for wide viewing angle, long-life, and reliability under harsh environmental conditions. Planar's rugged electroluminescent displays can be found in trains, taxis, long haul trucks and commercial aircraft. In 1997, a multi-color display, through which operational functions could be monitored, was designed into the dashboard of a prototype electric car.
DENSO CORPORATION, with $14 billion in sales, has an extensive portfolio of products targeted at the automobile market, focusing on high value-added technologies in this sector, such as automotive heating and cooling systems, fuel management systems, and electronic control components. DENSO currently supplies EL displays for certain vehicles sold in Japan.
Planar Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of high performance commercial flat-panel display components, CRT and flat-panel-based display products for federal markets and display systems for specialized applications. The primary market sectors that Planar serves today are medical, industrial, instrumentation, defense, communications, transportation and business/office. The company competes on a global basis with full development, manufacturing and marketing operations in both the United States and Europe.
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