Mainland touch panels occupy the market

As various capacitive screen investment projects were put into production one after another, in 2012, China's touch panel makers began to gain one year. Touch panel manufacturers in mainland China experienced a period of technological transformation. Not only did the technology and mass production capacity increase rapidly, but related supporting industries also developed rapidly. They were recognized by leading international companies.

The rapid increase in touch production capacity in mainland China has brought great pressure to the global touch panel manufacturers. The technological advantages of Taiwanese manufacturers in China are gradually retreating. The South Korean government and manufacturers are aware that they are not dominant in the field of touch panels and have vowed to reorganize their efforts and use their technological superiority to enhance their industrial status. As In-Cell and On-Cell technologies have become mainstream, South Korean companies that have been previously deployed in these two areas still have the opportunity to surpass the industry status of China's touch panels.

Mainland: Steady growth in productivity and scale of touch makers and terminals is the first sign of growth in touch panel manufacturers in mainland China.

Overall, the rapid development of the touch panel industry in mainland China is mainly reflected in four aspects: First, large production capacity, complete technical varieties, and perfect layout; Second, extensive end-users, there are many international first-tier manufacturers; Third, new listing time is substantial Shortening; fourth is the rapid development of touch supporting industries.

China's touch panel is dominated by mobile applications, with a ratio of more than 80%. The shipment volume of touch panels used by mobile phone manufacturers in mainland China was 32.7% in the first quarter of 2012 and rose to 39.4% in the fourth quarter. The annual production capacity of the top four touch panel makers Ophelia, Yushun Electronics, Leybold Tech, and Ultrasonic Semiconductor's capacitive touch screen has risen to around 130 million units, which has basically met the number of touch modules required for smart phone shipments in mainland China. The capacitive screen sensor, whether it is Glass or Film structure, China's total shipments have exceeded 30% of demand, reaching oversupply.

Mainland China's touch panel makers are dominated by relatively simple SMEs. They were rejected by Samsung and other first-tier manufacturers because of their small scale and insufficient capacity. Therefore, the rapid increase in production capacity and scale is the first sign of the growth of touch panel manufacturers in mainland China. In 2012, not only well-known, old-fashioned touch panel manufacturers such as Ophelia switched into the supply chain of Samsung and other international top-tier manufacturers, but also Shenzhen Yueguang Photoelectric Co., Ltd. supplies up to 2 million to 3 million capacitive screens each month. In addition, Shenyue Optoelectronics has also entered the supply chain of well-known domestic and overseas terminals including Panasonic, Sony, and Lenovo.

In terms of product categories, the product categories of touch screens in mainland China are relatively complete. Not only are G/G, G/F/F, and other product shipments large, but also new products such as OGS, OPS, and OFS are available. Many manufacturers in Mainland China, such as Ophelia, Truly Semiconductors, and Shenzhen Yueguang Optoelectronics, have already had the ability to produce OGS products. Long letter technology and Daxian Technology have already produced OGS products. This time, the response speed of new technology in Chinese mainland manufacturers is much faster than that of capacitive screen technology in previous years. This shows that current touch manufacturers in China have given full attention to technology research and development and have had certain strengths.

In addition, the number of production equipment and chemical material manufacturers in China has increased significantly. This is also a major highlight. In addition to the equipment manufacturers have begun to get rid of the difficulties of simply doing agency in previous years, the supply of chemical glue, ink, tempered glass, touch IC has been localized.

Taiwan: The decline of quality and technological advantages The downstream suppliers of Taiwanese manufacturers in China are mainly terminal manufacturers such as Apple, HTC, etc., and supply to the mainland market is gradually decreasing.

At present, Taiwan is the region with the highest proportion of global touch panel shipments, with a market share of over 47%. At the same time, Taiwanese manufacturers in our country were the first to enter the mainland market and were the most successful. Even today, the advantages of Taiwanese manufacturers in China have not been as good as before. Two years ago, with the same resistance screen, Yanghua's unit price was 1/3 higher than that of Ophelia, and some well-known terminal manufacturers were willing to purchase it.

It is precisely because of the high prices, high profits, and monopolization of new technologies that made Taiwanese manufacturers in China earn enough money in 2010. Due to the high expectations of the mainland market, from the middle of 2010 to the beginning of 2011, Chinese Taiwanese manufacturers have started large-scale investment in capacity expansion. However, with the rise of the mainland touch industry, the market share of Taiwanese manufacturers in China gradually shrinks. At present, China's Taiwanese downstream supply targets are mainly terminal manufacturers such as Apple, HTC, etc., and supply to the mainland market is limited.

In recent years, with the increasingly hot development of touch panels, China's Taiwan AU Optronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and other manufacturers have increased investment in touch panels. Chi Mei Optoelectronics and AU Optronics introduced a full range of touch panel solutions that attracted attention; Chunghwa Picture Tubes adjusted its 6th generation line process, optimised smartphone, tablet and touch product portfolios, and used touch panels as the main growth factor for the company's performance. power.

The United States and South Korea: "New" to win the South Korean manufacturers to re-adjust the strategy, the United States manufacturers new technology to achieve mass production, foreign companies intend to play an advantage to seize the touch market.

Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States have not invested much in the touch-control industry in mainland China, and they cannot compare with the Taiwanese manufacturers in China. The connection with the touch industry in mainland China is mostly concentrated on chemical materials and high-end equipment. However, the related equipment and materials provided by the South Korean manufacturers in the touch industry are relatively unfamiliar to Chinese manufacturers. This can also be seen in the inaction of South Korean manufacturers in the touch market in mainland China.

In the past two years, South Korea has focused its energy on OLED, and it has indeed achieved remarkable results. However, the Korean government and manufacturers have realized that they are not dominant in the field of touch panels. They have recounted that they must regroup and use their government strengths to concentrate their efforts on boosting the status of the touch panel market. However, judging from the global touch-panel industry structure that has preliminarily been formed, if Korea only depends on the mainland China and its own market, it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results. It is undeniable that South Korea’s R&D capability in new technologies surpasses mainland China. With the In-Cell and On-Cell technologies becoming mainstream, South Korean companies that have been previously deployed in these two areas still have the opportunity to surpass the industrial status of touch panels in mainland China.

It is also worth noting that the United States Hui Rui company has provided a complete solution for the application of graphene to replace ITO touch screen. Including the equipment that needs to be changed after the product is launched, it provides a one-stop solution and emphasizes that the entire solution has reached the production level.

In the touch screen of mobile phones, indium tin oxide (ITO) is an indispensable material for ceramics. However, indium tin oxide is high in price, large in amount, fragile, and toxic, while graphene and existing touch panel materials are indium tin oxide. Compared with low-cost, high-performance, more flexible, more environmentally friendly features. Touch screen mobile phones using graphene are expected to reduce costs by 30%. In addition to being able to achieve functional replacement, it is more important that graphene has excellent flexibility, which is consistent with the general trend of the display's pursuit of softness and collapsibility.

Despite the huge market space, graphene in mainland China is still in the stage of mass production exploration. In November 2012, Hui Rui of China demonstrated a complete set of graphene solutions and achieved large-scale supply, which will accelerate the application of graphene in electronic products to some extent.

It is expected that as of this year, most panel shipments will include both touch panels and panels. Whether in-cell touch or on-cell will be integrated in high-end panels, this part of the market share is expected to be in 2015. Increased to 70%. This exciting news hopes that touch screen manufacturers will seize opportunities, seize opportunities and gain business opportunities.