BOE, Applied Materials partner up

California-based Applied Materials Inc, a leading semiconductor, display and solar photovoltaic equipment manufacturer, has further cemented its presence in China by teaming up with China-based BOE Technology Group Co, the largest flat panel display manufacturer in China.

The partnership was formed when BOE placed significant orders for advanced display production equipment from Applied Materials in support of demand at multiple facilities in China.

Applied Materials' PiVot PVD and PECVD systems selected by BOE provide high-performance, cost-effective solutions to manufacturing high-resolution amorphous silicon, metal oxide and LTPS displays, the company said in a press release.

The release said these systems can significantly increase production and achieve the same economies of scale that enabled the cost of LCD TVs to fall by more than 95 percent over the past decade.

"BOE is one of the most important customers for Applied Materials in China. We are happy to have a very close relationship with BOE," said Brian Shieh, corporate vice-president and general manager of Display products.

"The China market is becoming an increasingly important market for Applied Materials, especially TVs," Shieh said. "China is almost becoming the TV manufacturing center for the entire world."

China, which is already the largest market for flat-screen TVs, has also become the world's largest market for smartphones. It accounted for a third of all smartphone shipments worldwide in the second quarter of this year, which roughly totaled 238 million units, according to Canalys research.

China's booming TV and smartphone markets offer significant opportunities for Applied Materials, which supplies equipment used in producing TV, smartphone and tablet displays.

Max McDaniel, Applied Materials' chief marketing officer for displays, said the market was basically divided into two segments - TV and mobile.

McDaniel noted some interesting trends, such as higher resolution, or 4K-compatible televisions and rapid growth in higher resolution screens for mobile.

"In order to make these higher resolution screens, you need more advanced manufacturing technology. This is quite a positive trend not just for our customers, but also for us, since our customers require more of our equipment," he explained.

"If our customers in China grow, we expect to grow with them," he said.

China has long been a core part of Applied Materials development strategy.

The Silicon Valley-headquartered company has maintained a strong presence in China since 1984, when the company became the first chip-maker to set up a service and support center there. Since then, the company has expanded to 12 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, and Xi'an, and has more than 1,200 employees.

Now that growth has returned in orders for display equipment, Applied Materials does not want to miss any opportunities.

"China is not only becoming the most important end market for TV and mobile displays," McDaniel said. "But the display manufacturing center of gravity is moving toward China.

"So this is allowing our Chinese customers to grow very rapidly and make more investments there and this is supporting our growth as well," he said.