Corning Inc, the world's leading supplier of glass for liquid-crystal-displays (LCDs), opened a research center in Taiwan yesterday to develop next-generation technologies in diversified areas including the display, energy and biotechnology industries.
The facility, located in Hsinchu, Taiwan's Silicon Valley, is the New-York-based company's fifth research center, and only its second in Asia. Corning operates the first such research facility in Japan, which focuses purely on developing display-related technologies.
Innovation
"A basic precept of our global innovation effort is to strengthen our research presence internationally ... we recognize Asia's growing influence on future technology in many of Corning's growing businesses," said Joseph Miller, Corning's chief technology officer, in his opening speech.
Corning declined to reveal its specific investment in the new research center, but it said it would pour in more capital over time.
The launch of Corning's research facility follows that of Merck KGaA, the world's leading supplier of liquid crystals, which opened a NT$900 million (US$27.7 million) research and manufacturing facility in northern Taiwan in the middle of last year.
"The investment [in the research center] is small ... We believe the collaboration [with local researchers] will bring synergy," said Eugene Verdon, president of Corning's local branch.
Corning said it plans to recruit about eight scientists for the new laboratory by the end of next year, targeting mostly local experts.
Multinational companies have invested NT$24 billion in setting up research and development centers in Taiwan over the past four years, according to the government's latest statistics.
Corning's new Hsinchu laboratory is relatively small in terms of the number of staff it will employ, compared to its French facility, which employs 122 people.
But Verdon stressed that "this is just the first step."
The new research facility aims to develop a wide range of future technologies, which could include the new Organic Light Emitting Display technology for displays as well as alternative energy fuel cells, according to Verdon.
In addition to its facilities in Asia, Corning currently operates three other research centers in Russia, France and the US.
Collaboration
Corning will also collaborate with the government-financed Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop new technologies on an as-needed basis.
The company opened its third LCD glass fuel facility in central Taiwan last December at a cost of up to US$1.5 billion.
Corning spent US$439 million on research and development last year, outdoing big companies such as chipmaker IBM Corp.
This expenditure accounted for around 10 percent of Corning's total revenues of NT$4.58 billion for last year.
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