Shinwha Intertek, a Korean optical film manufacturer, has challenged the large-size OLED packaging material market. Shinwha Intertek will enter the LG Display large-size OLED packaging material market monopolized by LG Chem and INNOX Advanced Materials.
According to a report by Korean media Thelec on August 11, Shinwha Intertek said, “The company has already supplied samples of large-size OLED packaging materials to a number of display manufacturers including LG Display,” and said that “it is expected to be in the first half of next year. Sales of packaging materials occur". The OLED packaging material is an organic substance used to prevent the light emitted by the OLED panel from causing the problem of the loss of light-emitting characteristics under the influence of oxygen or moisture. The packaging project belongs to the core project of OLED panel manufacturing.
A company official said, “Sales in the first half of next year are more conservative estimates.” It implies that actual mass production may be earlier. But did not disclose the estimated sales scale. It is expected that Shinwha Intertek will finally determine the sales scale based on the test results of several manufacturers supplying samples.
For Shinwha Intertek, OLED packaging materials are a new business. Shinwha Intertek currently supplies QD (quantum dot) films for QLED TVs to Samsung Electronics’ LCD TVs. Last year, the QD film supplied by Shinwha Intertek accounted for more than half of Samsung's QLED TV. 80% of Shinwha Intertek's overall sales are optical films, and 40% of optical films are QD films. Samsung Electronics leads the high-end TV market with QLED TV, while Samsung Display has established a plan for mass production of QD OLED panels, and Shinwha Intertek is also preparing for new businesses.
After Shinwha Intertek enters the OLED packaging material market, LG Display’s suppliers will be expanded to three, and price negotiation capabilities will be further enhanced. At present, LG Chem and INNOX Advanced Materials are supplying half of the materials to LG. Most of this market was supplied by LG Chem two years ago, and INNOX Advanced Materials has expanded its supply since mid-2018.
The large-size OLED panel market is dominated by LG Display. Samsung Display is currently building a Q1 production line and will mass produce QD-OLED panels next year.
Last year, Shinwha Intertek achieved sales of 254.4 billion won (about 1.49 billion yuan) and an operating profit of 16.3 billion won (about 95.41 million yuan). INNOX Advanced Materials achieved sales of 349.3 billion won (about 2.04 billion yuan) and operating profit of 46.4 billion won (about 270 million yuan). LG Chem’s sales were 28.625 trillion won (about 167.55 billion yuan) and operating profit was 895.6 billion won (about 5.24 billion yuan).