USDC Expands Mission to Include Flexible, Printed Electronics; The Newly Named FlexTech Alliance Will Support Displays and Accelerate Advances in the Emergent Flexible Electronics Marketplace

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The U. S. Display Consortium (USDC) announced today that it is formally expanding its mission to support the emerging flexible, printed electronics market -- subsequently changing the organization's official name to the FlexTech Alliance to reflect this new activity and opportunity. The USDC board took this action to signal its intent to commit resources to the increasingly synergistic technologies driving advances in the flexible and printed electronics sector. At the same time, the board recommitted its support for supply chain development for next-generation displays, such as OLEDs, flexible displays, MEMs-based and 3D displays.

USDC officials state that the move is a natural progression for the organization based on the success of the Flexible, Printed and Organic (FPO) Electronics Initiative that it launched in December 2006, which was designed to gauge potential development and growth of this new market. Since the launch of that initiative, industry interest has grown steadily with a definite need for programs dedicated to the sector. Based on substantial industry and academic support, as well as the growing synergies between all of its served markets, the USDC board has now officially broadened the consortium's mission to serve the common interests of the display industry and the flexible, printed electronics industry.

As part of this effort, the USDC and all of its programs will be absorbed under the broader FlexTech Alliance umbrella. In addition to continued strong emphasis on electronic display supply chain R&D, the FlexTech Alliance will focus on creating a flexible, printed electronics infrastructure within North America that will ultimately enable the production of active, ubiquitous devices. These devices will be manufactured using new, flexible form factors that deliver high functionality at low cost. Near-term applications for this market include RFID tags, sensors (chemical/biological), energy (e.g., solar cell panels and flexible batteries), solid-state lighting, medical/healthcare, disposable electronics and displays. Given their myriad applications, FPO electronics hold tremendous potential, with experts predicting that the market for some applications could exceed $50 billion by 2017.

Michael Ciesinski, USDC's former CEO, who will now lead the new FlexTech Alliance in the same capacity, stated, "There is tremendous overlap between what USDC has undertaken in the display industry and the work needed to support the flexible, printed electronics industry. The tools our consortium has at hand-pre-competitive R&D funding, technical roadmapping forums and a strong set of conferences and workshops -- will help set an aggressive pace of innovation. The goal set by the Governing Board is to accelerate the transition from R&D to prototype manufacturing, and then to commercialization and market acceptance."

The FlexTech Alliance will be overseen by a world-class Governing Board, along with a seasoned management team that includes Dr. Mark Hartney as CTO; Kay Mascoli as director of development and planning; Dr. Kevin Cammack as director of technical marketing and development; and Heidi Hoffman, director of events and marketing communications. The organization will deliver its services in national settings, via an expansive industry web portal, and through regional chapters. To this end, the FlexTech Alliance will help the North American industry meet the challenges facing it by facilitating partnerships, ensuring R&D support, developing product demonstrators, identifying and addressing manufacturing issues, along with broadening funding opportunities.

Dr. Michael McCreary, VP of R&D at E Ink and chairman of the FlexTech Alliance Governing Board stated, "I look forward to the expanded role that the FlexTech Alliance will provide to both the current membership as well as to new members looking to participate within this broader mission. The USDC has had more than a decade of experience in helping to stimulate and expand both new technology and the supply chain infrastructure for the flat panel display industry. This seasoned management team, along with the current and new member companies, will now have the opportunity to do the same within the FlexTech Alliance to accelerate the creation of this new emerging flexible, printed electronics industry, in addition to displays."

According to Dr. Dan Gamota, director of printed electronic platforms at Motorola, "The FlexTech Alliance is poised to address the need for an organization dedicated to facilitating and promoting the flexible, printed electronics and display industries in North America. The fact that USDC has changed its name and expanded its mission to be inclusive of these emergent markets speaks volumes to the future potential that is just waiting to be tapped. We will all benefit from the proven power of the USDC organization, which has a demonstrated track record of success in developing the infrastructure needed to facilitate the launch of high-growth markets."

The FlexTech Alliance will leverage the strong relationships USDC has already forged with industry, the academic community, investment banks and venture capital firms, along with federal agencies including the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which funded early federal initiatives in printed electronics. The FlexTech Alliance will also continue to work closely with the Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University and the Binghamton University (N.Y.)-led Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) -- both of which have substantial activity in this dynamic industry.

Today, the FlexTech Alliance will host a live webcast delving more into this announcement beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST. Media and others interested in learning more about the expanded organization along with the displays and emergent flexible electronics marketplace can visit http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=49675 to register/participate.

Lastly, the FlexTech Alliance will be chairing and presenting on flexible and printed electronics at a TechXPOT technical session, which will be held during SEMICON West (Moscone Convention Center, West Hall, San Francisco, Calif.) on Thursday, July 17, 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

About the FlexTech Alliance

The FlexTech Alliance is the only organization headquartered in North America exclusively devoted to fostering the growth, profitability and success of the electronic display and the flexible, printed electronics supply chain. Leveraging its rich history in promoting the display industry as the U.S. Display Consortium, the FlexTech Alliance offers expanded collaboration between and among industry, academia, and research organizations for advancing displays and flexible, printed electronics from R&D to commercialization. To this end, the FlexTech Alliance, based in San Jose, Calif., will help foster development of the supply chain required to support a world-class, manufacturing capability for displays and flexible, printed electronics. More information about the FlexTech Alliance can be found at the industry portal: http://www.flextech.org/ .

Note to Editors: Photos of the FlexTech Alliance's management team are available upon request. Additionally, a testimonial sheet, which includes quotes from FlexTech Alliance member companies immediately follows this release.

                     FlexTech Alliance Member Quotes

  Applied Materials' Corporate Business Development Group

"The USDC has been successful in promoting collaboration among display technology public & private industry leaders, academia and government. We are excited to be part of the FlexTech Alliance as they take on this new mission of fostering the growth of the emergent flexible electronics and display industry in North America."

  -Tom Edman, Vice President and General Manager

  Cornell University

"I think that the proposed change to USDC is a logical progression as its leadership role grows from one focused on displays to the rapidly developing and economically important field of flexible electronics. The country needs this expanded role to help guide us through the very competitive and quickly changing economic landscape."

-Christopher Ober, Francis Bard Professor of Materials Science, and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies

E Ink Corporation

"I look forward to the expanded role that the FlexTech Alliance will provide to both the current membership as well as to new members looking to participate within this broader mission. The USDC has had a decade of experience in helping to stimulate and expand both new technology and the supply chain infrastructure for the flat panel display industry. This seasoned management team along with the current and new member companies will now have the opportunity to do the same within the FlexTech Alliance to accelerate the creation of this new emerging flexible, printed electronics industry in addition to displays."

-Dr. Michael McCreary, Vice President of R&D, and Chairman of the FlexTech Alliance Governing Board

GE Global Research

"We are extremely excited to be part of the FlexTech Alliance. We believe this organization has tremendous potential in bringing the right people together in order to bridge the gap between technology development and emerging flexible electronics markets."

  -Jeff Popielarczyk, Business Development Manager

  Hewlett Packard Laboratories

"The FlexTech Alliance is unlike any other organization out there, as it has tremendous bench strength with a proven history in promoting collaboration and fostering growth in new and innovative markets when it operated as USDC. So, we at Hewlett Packard are extremely confident of their ability to expand their expertise to the flexible displays and electronics sector."

  -Carl Taussig, Director, Information Surfaces Lab

  Mark Andy, Inc.

"USDC is uniquely positioned to take on this new mission of fostering the growth of the emergent flexible electronics industry in North America. Based on their demonstrated success over the last decade, we are confident that FlexTech Alliance will be successful in helping grow the flexible printed electronics industry to new levels."

  -Paul Brauss, President

  Motorola

"The FlexTech Alliance is poised to address the need for an organization dedicated to facilitating and promoting the flexible, printed electronics and display industries in North America. The fact that USDC has changed its name and expanded its mission to be inclusive of these emergent markets speaks volumes to the future potential that is just waiting to be tapped. We will all benefit from the proven power of the USDC organization, which has a demonstrated track record of success in developing the infrastructure needed to facilitate the launch of high-growth markets."

  -Dr. Dan Gamota, Director of Printed Electronic Platforms

  Palo Alto Research Center

"PARC has a large research program in flexible and printed electronics because we believe these are important future technologies with many applications. The FlexTech Alliance will meet the unique needs of the flexible electronics industry, and will foster collaboration among public & private industry leaders, academia, R&D organizations and government."

  -Bob Street, Senior Research Fellow

  Universal Display Corporation

"The USDC has been a significant force in supporting the development of critical materials and infrastructure for the growing display industry. Their newly expanded mission is great news for the emerging flexible and printed electronics sectors. Under their new FlexTech Alliance name, this organization is extremely well positioned to provide expertise and leadership to flexible and printed electronics as they will continue to do for electronic displays."

-Janice K. Mahon, V.P. of Technology Commercialization

CONTACT: Marie Labrie of MCA, +1-650-968-8900, ext. 119, mlabrie@mcapr.com , for USDC

Web site: http://www.flextech.org/

SOURCE USDC