Oki ups LED capacity, buys Renesas plant

Oki eyes LED use in ultra small displays with the move.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 7/6/2009

Oki Group will increase its LED production for print heads used in its non-impact printers through the acquisition of a facility from Renesas Technology Corp.

The facility is located in Japan’s Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture and includes a clean room that is approximately twice the area of the room used currently by Oki for such production.

“Oki has been revamping its business structure and we now focus on two business areas: ‘info-telecom converged business’ and ‘mechatronics business,’ which is represented by ATMs and printers," said Hideichi Kawasaki, president at Oki Electric Industry, in a statement today. "We have been shifting resources and creating strong technologies and solutions to achieve robust business growth.

"This is the first of many decisions I will be making with regard to developing new businesses to accelerate our growth strategy," he continued. "I believe that increasing our LED production capacity will enable us to apply our competitive LED technology not only to our printers but also to new areas, such as ultra small displays, where growth is expected.”

Oki’s LED technology is currently used in the print heads as a light source for its non-impact printers.

According to Oki, the deal includes the facility's land, buildings, and utilities of the former semiconductor front-end process line housed there by Renesas. The acquisition is expected to be complete at the end of November, and operations at the new location are scheduled to start in April 2010.

Oki said it expects to boost its LED print head production by fourfold with the facility.

"This will help us double our non-impact printer sales by the fiscal year ending March 2012,” said Harushige Sugimoto, president and CEO of Oki Data, in the statement. “We also expect stronger synergy between the development team and the production team as the new location will be close to Oki Data’s Taksaki plant, which, I believe, will then enhance our product development capabilities.”

Oki did not disclose the facility acquisition price.