SAN JOSE, CA - Vitex Systems is changing its business model to focus on its portfolio of intellectual property (IP) and providing related engineering services related to the manufacture of thin-film products and flexible glass technologies. As a result, Vitex will close its Windsor, CT pilot production facility, where it had manufactured its flexible glass, and will begin licensing the core IP to substrate manufacturers who possess high-volume roll-to-roll manufacturing capacity and expertise.
Over the past two years, Vitex has made significant advancements with both its thin-film barrier encapsulation technology (Barix(TM)) for the manufacture of OLED displays and continued development of its roll-to-roll Flexible Glass technology. Under the company’s new business model, licensees will gain rights to Vitex’s arsenal of patents, as well as its considerable engineering and integration talent. Capital equipment manufacturers will now be able to license the IP for Vitex’s Guardian deposition system with access to Vitex-designed hardware and software, while substrate manufacturers can buy rights to Vitex’s flexible glass technology. According to the company, gaining access to Vitex’s vast IP portfolio and integration expertise will enable organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display manufacturers and producers of organic optoelectronic devices to speed time-to-market of thinner, lighter, lower-cost products.
“Vitex has produced a low-cost barrier technology as effective as a sheet of glass, with the flexibility and design advantages of plastic. Obviously, this has revolutionary implications for today’s display manufacturers, and the electronics industry at large-now, cost-effective production of thinner, lighter, high-performance displays and flexible electronics will be truly within reach,” said Robert Jan Visser, Vitex’s CTO. “Acceptance of our deposition tools and licensing of our Barix technology and encapsulation process has demonstrated success. Since our strengths lie with our patent portfolio and engineering services capabilities, it makes perfect sense to shift all of our efforts to this approach, which will subsequently allow us to reduce our operating and manufacturing costs and maximize profitability.”
Vitex says the display sector is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to its potential for capturing broader market opportunities. For example, today’s electronics components and devices also need to be protected from moisture and oxygen. Because Vitex offers the unique ability to customize its multi-layer barrier technology to meet the needs of various applications’ specific barrier requirements, the company can address a wider array of organic optoelectronics markets, including smart labels/ID tags, thin-film batteries, solid-state lighting, optical networks, solar cells and smart cards, to name just a few.