SEMI acquires Plastic Electronics for special interest play
MUNICH -- At ISS Europe 2012 here global industry association SEMI announced it has acquired the Plastics Electronics Conference and Exhibition.
Plastics Electronics Conference enables commercialization of new products in organic and inorganic large area electronics (OLAE).The organizing committee will serve as a Plastic Electronics Special Interest Group, guiding SEMI activities and services worldwide.
The 8th edition of the Plastics Electronic Conference and Exhibition will be held in conjunction with Semicon Europa in Dresden (October 9 to 11) and will be extended to other regions in the future. The Plastics Electronics Conference has already co-located with Semicon Europa the last two years.
“The SEMI track record of using global industry collaboration, advocacy and standards to expand and optimize major industries such as semiconductors, displays, solar PV, and related technologies will greatly help the emerging OLAE industry to move from lab to fab,” said Karl Hahn, senior vice-president of BASF and board member of PE-SIG, in a statement.
“There are substantial synergies between technologies, equipment, materials, and services among SEMI member companies and the rapidly developing OLAE industry,” said Thomas Morrow, head of Emerging Markets at SEMI (San Jose, Calif.).
According to several industry market research reports, OLAE is expected to reach over $50 billion by 2020, OLAE covers five areas: OLED Lighting, organic and inorganic photovoltaics, OLED displays, organic electronics and integrated smart systems.
The Plastic Electronics Special Interest Group (PE-SIG) will be governed by board members from industry corporations, research institutes and academia, including executives from BASF, Merck, Technical University of Dresden, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, and others. The PE-SIG activities will include generating roadmaps andstandards, provide industry research and industry statistics. The SIG will also hold conferences, exhibitions and be active in public policy worldwide.
“OLEDs is a new wave of electronics, with its own value chain for new applications,” said Ed van den Kieboom of InnovationFab, a consulting firm facilitating the European OLAE business community.