Lasers & Sources

PPG and Universal Display complete $15M expansion for PHOLED production

Oct. 31, 2017

The investment doubles commercial production capacity for Universal Display's UniversalPHOLED emitters.

Materials company PPG (Pittsburgh, PA; NYSE:PPG) and Universal Display Corporation (UDC; Nasdaq:OLED) completed Universal Display's $15 million investment in PPG's Barberton, OH, manufacturing facility. The investment doubles commercial production capacity for Universal Display's proprietaryUniversalPHOLED phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) emitters or PHOLEDs, and will add more than 20 positions at the facility.

UDC is a leading supplier of phosphorescent OLED materials. These materials are used to produce thin, energy-efficient displays that provide vibrant color for consumer electronics and solid-state lighting applications. PPG is the exclusive manufacturer for Universal Display’s UniversalPHOLEDemitter materials.

The expansion increases production capabilities at PPG's Barberton plant, where an initial OLED manufacturing line was completed in 2013. The additional production capacity will help meet the growing demand for next-generation OLED displays for smartphones, tablets and televisions. The site, which PPG owns and operates, provides the two companies with resources to meet the needs of major customers in the display and lighting industries.

"UDC is extremely pleased with our strong partnership with PPG for more than 15 years to deliver cutting-edge technological advances in OLED materials for our customers," said Steven V. Abramson, Universal Display Corporation president and CEO. "Our relationship allows us to combine PPG's specialty materials manufacturing expertise with our innovative, high-performance phosphorescent materials technology. With the adoption of OLEDs expected to grow for the foreseeable future, we’re delighted to unveil the expanded OLED production facility at PPG's Barberton, Ohio, plant."

In 2000, PPG established a strategic relationship with Universal Display for the commercialization and production of UniversalPHOLEDmaterials. The PPG Barberton plant opened in 1900 and currently employs about 160 people. PPG employs more than 2500 people in Ohio across 12 facilities. Locally, the company supports the University of Akron, College of Engineering with grants for the Women in Engineering (WIE), Increasing Diversity in Engineering Academics (IDEAs), and Corrosion programs.

SOURCE: Universal Display Corporation; http://ir.oled.com/newsroom/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/PPG-and-Universal-Display-Corporation-Mark-Completion-of-15-Million-Capacity-Expansion-at-Barberton-Ohio-Facility-for-UniversalPHOLED-Materials-Production/default.aspx

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.