Compiled from outside sources; Adam Connors, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 26 March 2002]
In a statement to the press, Fujitsu and its wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary Yonago Fujitsu on March 22 announced a reorganization of their LCD businesses. Fujitsu’s operations will be spun off and consolidated with those of Yonago into a new company called Fujitsu Display Technologies.
According to the statement, operations are scheduled to begin June 1, with the new company leveraging its integrated LCD development, manufacturing and sales operations to pursue efficiencies, develop business and oversee further growth.
Competitors Toshiba and Matsushita Electric Industrial outlined their own LCD joint venture, Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology, on January 29, indicating that their new company will begin operations on April 1.
To improve profitability, Fujitsu and Yonago’s reorganization will be accompanied by an accelerated shift to higher value-added product areas, in particular, large-screen, high-resolution LCDs with Fujitsu’s proprietary MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment) technology and other innovations at their core. In addition, striving for wider proliferation and standardization of Fujitsu’s advanced technology, the combined company will seek to open up new markets in advanced applications and expand its engineering service business by providing a wide range of know-how and technical support, the statement said.
The statement goes on to say that the new company will actively pursue tie-ups with other companies that can supplement its own capabilities, as well as strengthen and stabilize its operational base.
The announcement came at the end of a week that saw five major Japanese conglomerates, including Fujitsu, negotiating large deals. Toshiba and Fujitsu were reportedly discussing a semiconductor business merger, according to sources compiled by the March 20 late edition of Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. It was also confirmed that Fujitsu would be jointly developing technology with Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba and NEC for next-generation chips, with government help, in a bid to regain Japan’s international competitiveness.
Furthermore, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric reached an agreement on March 18 to integrate their system LSI (large-scale integration) chip businesses and the bulk of their semiconductor operations.
Seizing this and other industry reorganizations as an “exciting opportunity,” the statement from Fujitsu and Yonago reaffirmed that Fujitsu Display Technologies will pursue an independent growth strategy, adopting a solution provider business model that capitalizes on its cutting-edge LCD development and design capabilities.
Related stories:
Toshiba, Fujitsu in talks to form chip partnership to become second-largest; join semiconductor industry co-op (Mar 21)
Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric to merge chip businesses (Mar 19)
Toshiba and Matsushita outline LCD joint venture (Feb 6)
