OSAKA -- Sanyo Electric Co. and Eastman Kodak Co. of the United States announced Tuesday they will set up a joint venture this month to make a next-generation flat-panel display for use in electronic devices.
The company will be set up Dec. 21 within Sanyo's factory in Anpachi, Gifu Prefecture, and start volume production of full-color organic electroluminescent (EL) panels in February. Products will be marketed under the Sanyo and Eastman Kodak brands.
Sanyo plans to use organic EL panels in mobile phones that can display moving pictures, the company said.
The joint company will be capitalized at 450 million yen, with 66 percent of the shares held by Sanyo and the remaining 34 percent by Eastman Kodak. The capital will later be boosted to 6 billion yen.
Sanyo is planing to start producing organic EL panels at an affiliated factory in Tottori Prefecture in April 2003.
The amount invested by the two companies will eventually total 50 billion yen, they said.
The joint venture will aim for sales exceeding 50 billion yen in 2004 and for 30 percent of the EL panel market for cell phones, digital cameras and other hand-held devices, Sanyo officials said.
Sanyo and Eastman Kodak have been cooperating on development and production of organic EL displays for cell phones and car navigation systems since February 1999. Kodak holds the basic EL patents and Sanyo is strong on production technology.
Sanyo will change manufacturing lines at a plant for liquid crystal displays run by subsidiary Tottori Sanyo Electric Co. to accommodate production of organic EL display panels, the officials said.
Organic panels consume less electricity and offer greater resolution than liquid crystal displays, which dominate the market for thin computer screens and mobile phone displays.